Joel Ladd Thomas (born December 13, 1966) is an American former competition swimmer and Water Polo player for the University of California at Berkeley and a 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.

He was honored with a selection as a second team All-League Water Polo player while competing for John Muir in January 1983.

[2] Thomas attended and swam for U Cal Berkeley, where he also played water polo as he had at John Muir High School.

[7] His singularly most impressive achievement in swimming is likely his win in the US Open on December 2, 1990 against Matt Biondi in the 100-meter freestyle, where he set a time of 50.46.

[11] At the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, Thomas won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay.