American swimmer Katie Hoff was 11 years old when she said she was amazed by how young Olympic swimmer Kaitlin Sandeno was when Sandeno, at age 17, competed in the 2000 Sydney Games.

But four years later, the Towson, Md., native was competing as the youngest athlete at the 2004 Olympics. Hoff finished seventh in Athens in the 200m individual medley and competed in the 400m IM.

Hoff said she was disappointed more with the way she competed rather than the results in those Olympics, as she said she paid too much attention to what the other competitors were doing rather than sticking to what worked for her in the past.

Hoff was able to use her Olympic experience to her advantage, and over the next three years she went on to amass six gold medals -- three each in the 2005 and 2007 World Championships -- and broke the world record in the 400m IM.

Poised to continue her success at the 2008 Beijing Games, Hoff is set to compete in five individual events: the 200m free, 400m free, 800m free, 200m IM, 400m IM. She is also expected to swim in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

At the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Games, Hoff said she plans to attend college. Unable to compete in collegiate athletics because of endorsement deals with Visa, Speedo and Playtex, Hoff said she is unsure which college she will attend.

She said her college choice could hinge on where her swimming coach, Paul Yetter, will be while she enters college. Yetter, who took over at the NBAC's main pool in Baltimore, has been Hoff's coach since 2003.