Gillian Akiko Thomson is a Filipina

Filipino people

The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

 television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 host

Presenter

A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

, journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and retired swimmer

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

. She is the youngest of three children born to a white

Caucasian race

The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

 American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 father, Marshall Thomson, and a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese mother from Hiroshima

Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

, Hiroko Nakamura. Her older siblings are Julia and Joshua. When she was still quite young, she and her family moved to Manila where her father, who had previous experience with the United States Office of Naval Intelligence

Office of Naval Intelligence

The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...

, became the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 in the latter years of the Marcos

Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...

 dictatorship.

Thomson began swimming at the age of six. She started to represent the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 in several swimming competitions locally and abroad after becoming a naturalized Filipino citizen

Philippine nationality law

Philippine Nationality Law is currently based upon the principles of jus sanguinis and therefore descent from a parent who is a citizen/national of the Republic of the Philippines is the primary method of acquiring Philippine citizenship...

 through an Act of Congress by the age of 12. Among the tournaments she competed in are the 1987

1987 Southeast Asian Games

The 14th Southeast Asian Games were held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 9 September - 20 September 1987.-Medal count:-References:*Percy Seneviratne Golden Moments: the S.E.A Games 1959-1991 Dominie Press, Singapore ISBN 981-00-4597-2*...

 and 1991

1991 Southeast Asian Games

The 16th Southeast Asian Games were held in Manila, the Philippines from 24 November - 3 December 1991. This was the second time that the country hosted the biennial regional sporting event. It was officially opened by President Corazon Aquino at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila through a...

 Southeast Asian Games

Southeast Asian Games

The Southeast Asian Games , is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia...

, where she won several gold medals, and the 1988

Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics took place in Seoul, South Korea. The swimming competition, held from September 18 to September 25, was notable for the seven medals, including five golds, won by Matt Biondi, the six golds won by Kristin Otto, and the three individual golds won by Janet Evans...

, 1992

Swimming at the 1992 Summer Olympics

At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, 31 swimming events were contested. There was a total of 641 participants from 92 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men's events:* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals....

 and 1996

Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics

The swimming competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics was held at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States, which was built for the Games...

 Summer Olympic Games

Philippines at the Olympics

The Philippines first sent athletes to compete at the Olympic Games in 1924, making it the first Country to compete and win a medal in Southeast Asia. The nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games since then, except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer...

.

Thomson graduated with a degree in Anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

 at the University of California

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

, Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

 and then took her masters in Business Administration at the Ateneo de Manila University

Ateneo de Manila University

The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...

. After her retirement from competitive swimming, she became a television host and journalist with Probe Productions at ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN

ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...

.