Education
Stanford University.
Stanford University.
She is a former world record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke (short course). Kirk was the contributor for Episode 18, Season 6 of What Not to Wear. Kirk is the former American Record holder in the 50-meter, 100-meter, and 200-meter breaststrokes.
Kirk is the only woman to swim the 100-yard breaststroke in under 58 seconds (5777).
Kirk previously held the 100 short-course meter breaststroke world record at 1:04.79 but this was beaten by Leisel Jones on August 28, 2006. Tara Kirk"s younger sister, Dana Kirk, joined her on the 2004 United States of America Women"s Olympic Swimming team, becoming the first set of sisters to swim on the same United States Olympic Team.
Kirk finished third at the 2008 United States. Olympic Trials by one-hundredth of a second and did not qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in the 100-meter breaststroke. Kirk had decided to not swim the 200-meter breaststroke in order to concentrate on the 100.
Hardy subsequently left the United States of America"s Olympic team on August 1, 2008, upon her initial hearing in front of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
There was an issue regarding a delay of Hardy receiving her test results, and it was later determined that the lateness of the delivery of the test results was due to a lab error which logged Hardy"s samples as "regular" rather than "expedited." Kirk filed a claim against United States of America Swimming to earn a berth on the team (while Hardy was still on the team, and before Hardy"s official departure from the team on August 1), but the arbitrator in the case determined that at that time, no rules were violated.
Unfortunately for Kirk, Hardy"s departure from the team was too late for Kirk to be named a replacement to Hardy on the Olympic team or for Kirk to be entered to the 2008 Olympic organizers as a member of the United States of America team—the entry deadline for the Games had passed.