Personal Life
Soni was born in Freehold, New Jersey, in 1987, the daughter of Peter and Kinga Sőni. Soni's parents are of Hungarian descent; they emigrated from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Besides English, Soni also speaks Hungarian. Soni has one older sister, Rita, who was also a swimmer. Originally a gymnast, Soni began swimming at the age of ten.
Soni is a 2005 graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in Plainsboro Township, New Jersey. In July 2006 she had a cardiac ablation. Soni attended the University of Southern California and graduated in 2009. She majored in Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication.
At USC, Soni was a six-time NCAA Champion, having won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2006 through 2009 and the 100-yard breastroke in 2008 and 2009. Soni currently swims for the Trojan Swim Club in Los Angeles with coach Dave Salo, who also coaches breaststroke world-record holder Jessica Hardy.
In August 2010, Soni became a spokeswoman for the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up campaign. The organization focuses on improving the lives of the world’s adolescent girls.
Soni is currently dating fellow Olympic swimmer Ricky Berens.
Read more about this topic: Rebecca Soni
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