Happy Birthday to our 2020 Honoree JON SIEBEN !!!
Jon Sieben (AUS)
2020 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m butterfly), bronze (4x100m medley); 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: 4th (100m butterfly), 6th (4x100m medley); 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: 6th (4 x 100m medley); ONE WORLD RECORD: 100m butterfly; 1982 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (4x100m medley), bronze (200m butterfly); 1985 PAN PACIFIC GAMES: silver (100m butterfly), silver (4 x100m medley); 1987 PAN PACIFIC GAMES: silver (100m butterfly), bronze (4 x 100m medley); 1991 PAN PACIFIC GAMES: silver (100m butterfly); 1985 UNIVERSIADE GAMES: gold (100m butterfly); 2005 UNIVERSIADE GAMES: 8th (men’s water polo team); 2009 UNIVERSIADE GAMES: gold (men’s water polo team); LONG COURSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 16; OPEN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 11; U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (200m butterfly); NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (200y butterfly) bronze (100y butterfly)
Jon Sieben set the world record with a blistering 1:57.04 in the 200m butterfly, winning the event in the major upset of the 1984 Olympic Games. The record stood for 11 months until Michael Gross of Germany regained it in 1985. Swimming as a NCAA swimmer, he competed for the University of Alabama under Coach Don Gambril, but Laurie Lawrence was his coach at the Olympic Games, as he competed for Australia. He competed in three Olympic Games, the first time since Dawn Fraser had participated in three Olympic Games in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
Happy Birthday INGE DE BRUIJN
Inge de Bruijn (NED)
2009 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: 8th (100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle); 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly), silver (4x100m freestyle); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle), silver (100m freestyle), bronze (100m butterfly, 4×100 freestyle); ELEVEN WORLD RECORDS: four (50m freestyle), two (100m freestyle), two (50m butterfly), two (100m butterfly); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m freestyle, 50m butterfly); 1999 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (50m freestyle), silver (4x100m freestyle).
Inge de Bruijn is the most successful athlete of all time in Dutch sports history. In Olympic swimming history, she won four gold, two silver and two bronze medals in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events and joins Debbie Meyer (1968), Shane Gould (1972), Janet Evans (1988), Kristin Otto (1988) and Krisztina Egerszegi (1992) as the only female swimmers to win three gold medals in individual events at one Olympic Games (2000).
Although de Bruijn competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics finishing 8th in the 100m freestyle, it wasn’t until 1999 that she won the European Championships 50m freestyle gold medal and started setting world records eleven by the time she retired.
She fell into a slump during the Olympic year of 1996 and connected with Hall of Fame coach Paul Bergen in Portland, Oregon, training under his guidance. Four years later, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she won the 50m and 100m freestyles and the 100m butterfly, setting world records in all three events. With a silver medal in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay, her nickname became “Invincible Inky”. In 2000 and 2001, she was named World Female Swimmer of the Year. At the 2001 and 2003 World Championships, she won world records in the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m and 100m butterfly.
All totaled, she won eight Olympic medals, seven World Championship medals and 26 Dutch National Championships.
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Nicolas Granger 2016 MISHOF Honor Swimmer
Nicholas Granger, 2016 MISHOF Honor Swimmer
and two-time Cancer Survivor – He’s One in A Thousand!
When asked why he wanted to join the International Swimming Hall
of Fame’s One in A Thousand Club, Granger said, “ISHOF was not even on
my radar, because in France, most of the Masters swimmers don’t even know that ISHOF
exists.
When I was awarded my first “Swimmer of the Year
” nomination in 2012, I discovered a new goal to strive toward, because as
a French Masters swimmer, you rarely if ever, are given that distinction.
Swimming has always been a great source of pleasure to me, especially
after my second bout with cancer in 2003 (first in 1991), and I decided to do
my best to become the first French swimmer to be inducted into MISHOF. That dream came true in 2016 and I’m so proud
about it, mostly because it was such a long time after my sickness….
Today, I look forward to being able to visit Fort Lauderdale, the
new pool and new museum. Swimming is
still one of the greatest pleasures in life, along with spending time with
my family. I expect our next vacation or
the next time a meet is held in Florida, we will finally be able to discover
ISHOF.
I will always be grateful that I earned a spot as a member of the
MISHOF and am proud that I will always be some small part of the history of
Masters swimming. Thank you to ISHOF for doing so much for the memory of
our sport.”
Join the One in a Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or
one-time basis.
·
$10 Monthly Commitment
·
$25 Monthly Commitment
·
$50 Monthly Commitment
·
Make a One-Time
Commitment
For larger corporate sponsorships and estate-planning donations,
please contact us at customerservice@ishof.org
Nicolas Granger (FRA)
2016 Honor Masters Swimmer
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS (SWIMMER): World Points-781, Pre 1986
Points- 0, Total Points-781; Since 1993, he has competed in 5 age groups (25-29
through 45-49). 25 FINA MASTERS WORLD RECORDS
Nicolas Granger began competitive swimming as a six-year-old and
has been competing ever since. He was an outstanding age-group swimmer and
joined the French National Team as a sixteen-year-old in 1983. Ten years later,
while still a member of the national team he entered his first Masters meet in
the 25-29 age group. He finished the year in the Masters World Top-Ten and has
made the list every year since.
He has competed in six FINA World Masters Championships,
beginning in 1994, and has won a total of 23 Championship gold medals and six
silver. As a versatile swimmer, he has set 29 FINA Masters World Records, 17
long-course and 12 short-course, in the freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and
I.M.
In addition, he has set or broken 55 European Masters records,
and 110 French Masters records. Swimming in the United States since 2015, he
also has broken five U.S. National Masters Records.
Nicolas is very proud of the fact that he has been his own coach
since 1989. He was also the Coach of the French Junior and A team from 1993
through 1995.
In 1991 and again in 2003, Nicolas was diagnosed with testicular
cancer. He says he was able to beat his cancer, not once, but twice, due to
practice, his routine and to his healthy lifestyle over the last 42 years. In a
nutshell: to SWIMMING.
The
International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to know if you are one in a thousand.
We think you are! Show how special you are and become a member of the
International Swimming Hall of Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club. Help
keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new vision
and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is calling on
every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly commitment of
support to show how special you are and how special the International Swimming
Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to simply commit
$10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go beyond this
Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman
of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and goals can
join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic history.”
– Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been the global focal point for recording
and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential
life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to water
sports. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand its
reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all members of the
aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show their dedication
to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of Fame is to
everyone.
About ISHOF Take a Virtual Tour
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) museum opened
its doors to the public in December of 1968 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That
same year, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) – the governing
body for Olympic aquatic sports – designated the ISHOF museum as the “Official
Repository for Aquatic History”. In 2018, Sports Publications Inc,
publisher of Swimming World Magazine and its multi-media
platforms, merged with ISHOF to expand the museum’s reach and impact.
Today, ISHOF’s vision is to be the global focal point for recording and sharing
the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and
developing educational programs and events related to water sports. Show
your support for the sport of swimming by becoming a member of ISHOF.
ISHOF Vision Statement
To be the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics,
promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational
programs and events related to water sports.
ISHOF Mission Statement
To collaborate with aquatic organizations worldwide to preserve, educate and
celebrate history, showcase events, share cultures, and increase participation
in aquatic sports.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc. is registered as a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, incorporated in the State of Florida.
Contributions to ISHOF are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
ISHOF’s tax identification number is 59-1087179. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL
REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF
CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR FROM
THE WEBSITE, www.800helpfla.com. REGISTRATION
DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. You can
find out more about us on guidestar.org under
International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc.
Happy Birthday IET VAN FEGGELEN !!!
Iet van Feggelen (NED)
2009 Honor Pioneer Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: ELEVEN WORLD RECORDS: Three (100m backstroke), Two (200m backstroke), One (400m backstroke), One (150y backstroke), One (100m backstroke), Two (3x100m Medley Relay), One (3x100y Medley Relay); 1964, 1968 OLYMPIC GAMES: Coach With Dutch Swimming Team; STARTED FIRST SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING TEAM IN EUROPE.
For a 20 year period, Dutch backstroke swimmers held all the World backstroke records with Rie Mastenbroek, Nina Senff, Cor Kint and Iet van Feggelen in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. Van Feggelen reached her swimming prime following the Olympic Games of 1936. In 1938 and 1939, she set eight World Backstroke Records in distances from 100 yards to 400 meters.
Her Olympic ambitions were denied when World War II prevented her from competing in the cancelled Games of 1940. There were no Olympic Games in 1944; but she kept swimming and almost ten years later, following the war, she swam on Holland’s 3 x 100 medley relay teams setting three world records in the process.
In 1947, she toured the USA with Hall of Fame teammate Nel van Vliet, during which time she discovered synchronized swimming. Upon her return home, she started the first synchronized swimming team in Holland and Europe. Holland’s Jan Armbrust followed Iet’s Dutch synchro success with his own team a few years later eventually becoming very active in the international synchronized swimming scene. During this time, Iet’s brother Rudy was playing water polo on the Dutch National Team and won the bronze medal at the 1948 London Olympic Games.
The Dutch Swimming Federation selected her as a coach for the Olympic swimming teams of 1964 and 1968.
Happy Birthday to America’s First Great Freestyler of the NY Women’s Swimming Association – Charlotte Boyle !
CHARLOTTE BOYLE (USA)
1988 Honor Pioneer Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: WORLD RECORDS: 2 (200m, 220 yd freestyle); U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 8 (50yd to 5 mile long distance). Competed in 1910’s and 1920’s. First great freestyle swimmer of the dominant New York Women’s Swimming Association.
Charlotte Boyle set two world records and won eight U.S. National Championships on both sides of the 1920 Olympics. Charlotte Boyle was the first great freestyler of the dominant New York Women’s Swimming Association and coach L. de B. Handley, the first U.S. scientific swimming coach. Her style and glamour added to a large dose of talent, helped to popularize competitive women’s swimming. She concluded her career with a story book marriage and a long life of service, teaching thousands to swim. Her own competitive career included winning nationals from 50 yards to the five mile national long distance. Her world records were in the 200 meter and 220 yard middle distance events.
Happy Birthday ISTVAN SZIVOS, SR. !!!
ISTVAN SZIVOS, SR. (HUN)
1997 Honor Water Polo Player
FOR THE RECORD: 1948 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver; 1952 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 1956 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold; 1947 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4th; 1954 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold.
Istvan Szivos, Sr. was one of the great water polo players of the post World War II era in Hungary. He participated on three Olympic teams, winning gold medals at Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956) and a silver at London (1948). He also won the gold at the 1954 European Championships in Torino.
Born in 1920, Szivos, Sr. took a liking to swimming during his early childhood when he spent most of his afternoons by the Tisza River. His first international competition came in 1947 at the Monte-Carlo European Championships where his team took 4th place.
Szivos competed on the M.A.C. and Vasas Clubs. As a member of three Olympic teams for Hungary, he competed with Hall of Famers Dezso Gyarmati, Gyorgy Karpati and Kalman Markovits.
His son, Istvan, Jr., played on four Olympic water polo teams beginning in 1968, winning a gold, silver and two bronze medals. Istvan, Jr. preceded his father by one year as an Honoree in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Happy Birthday GEORGE BREEN !!!
GEORGE BREEN (USA)
1975 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1956 bronze (1500m freestyle); 1960 bronze (1500m freestyle); WORLD RECORDS: 6; U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 22.
George Breen trained for his long course 1500 meter World Records in a 20 yard pool. He began swimming at 17. In his first time trial as a freshman at Cortland State, he swam six minutes and 30 seconds for 440 yds. “I was so bad,” says Breen, “that a coach without Doc Counsilman’s patience would have thrown me out of the pool for cluttering-up his workouts.” Breen’s reign as America’s (and sometimes the World’s) greatest distance swimmer is the classic Horatio Alger story of a kid who couldn’t make the football team so he went out for swimming. He started late, came on fast, and became the best. George started swimming at least ten years later than most of today’s champions – about the time most of our current hotshots are dreaming of retirement. Yet he was still swimming, or swimming again, 20 years later as a Masters national Champion. Breen shaved-down for the first time when he was 40. “I quit for a few years,” says Breen, now the University of Pennsylvania Head Swim Coach, “but I feel better when I’m working out.”
Breen’s most impressive effort was his 1500 meter World Record (long course) at the 1956 U.S. AAU Indoor Championship at Yale, a swim which Ohio State Coach Mike Peppe called “the single most brilliant effort in swimming since I’ve been coaching.” Breen not only lowered the World Record by 13.1 seconds, but finished one minute and 18 seconds ahead of Frank Brunell, himself a many-time U.S. National Champion. No one has ever finished so far ahead of the second man in the 75-year history of the U.S. Nationals.
There is irony in Breen’s next greatest swim. It was during the 1956 Olympics and George lowered his New Haven 1500 meter World Record another 13 seconds to a then incredible 17:52.9. The only problem is it was during the preliminaries, and while George Breen had continued to hold the Olympic record, he had also swum his gold medal race too soon. In the finals he finished third behind Olympic Champion Murray Rose of Australia and runner-up Yamonaka of Japan. The winner was six seconds slower than Breen’s record. Breen calls that race which he has re-swum a few thousand times, “my biggest lesson in character building.” Before and after his “character building” experience George Breen helped build character in other swimmers. In 5 years, from 1956 to 1960, he won 22 U.S. National Championships, set 6 World Records and made 2 Olympic Teams, captaining the 1960 U.S. Team which won the title back from the Australians who had won it all in 1956.
Breen’s thrashing-rolling-shoulder-roll and two-beat kick was an important step in the evolution of modern freestyle swimming although so unorthodox that many top coaches of the time remarked after each of his World Records, “wow, if that man could only swim – think, how good he would be!”
There is one more touch of irony to the George Breen era. The other American male swimmer who did well at the Melbourne Olympics was Bill Yorzyk. As with Breen, Yorzyk was a very bad football player who had never been a swimmer before college. Yorzyk went to Springfield just a few miles from Cortland. Both had outstanding and patient young coaches, Doc Counsilman and “Red” Silvia, both were developing new strokes, and both worked harder in their 20 yd. pools than their U.S. competition had ever worked at 25 yds. or 50 meters.
George Breen was put on this earth to keep us all honest. We honor this incredible man as a 1975 Honoree in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
George passed away on November 9, 2019.
Happy Birthday to our 2020 Honoree BRENDAN HANSEN !!!
Brendan HANSEN (USA)
2020 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2004 OLYMPIC
GAMES: gold (4×100m medley relay), silver (100m breaststroke), bronze (200m
breaststroke); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4×100m medley relay ), 2012 OLYMPIC
GAMES: gold (4×100m medley relay), bronze (100m breaststroke); 2001 WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (200m breaststroke), silver (100m breaststroke); 2003
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (4×100m medley relay), bronze (200m
breaststroke); 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (100m breaststroke, 200m
breaststroke, 4×100 m medley); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (100m
breaststroke), silver (50m breaststroke); 2004 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): 4 gold
(50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, 4×100m medley relay);
2002 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m breaststroke, 4×100m medley relay),
silver (100m breaststroke); 2006 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m
breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, 4×100m medley relay)
Brendan Joseph Hansen (born
August 15, 1981) is an American former competitive swimmer who specialized in
breaststroke events. Hansen is a six-time Olympic medalist, and is also a
former world record-holder in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke events (long
course).
He won a total of 25 medals in
major international competition – 18 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze – spanning
the Olympics, the Worlds, and the Pan Pacific Championships. At the conclusion
of the 2012 Olympic Games, Hansen decided that it would be his final meet,
retiring from the sport of swimming.
Hansen continues to reside in
Austin and is currently the Director of Team Services for USA Swimming.
Happy Birthday ANDY BURKE !!!
Andy Burke (USA)
2018 Honor Contributor
FOR THE RECORD: MANAGER OF THE 1964 US OLYMPIC WATER POLO TEAM; WATER POLO OFFICIAL FOR THE HOST ORGANIZING COMMITTEES AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000; DELEGATE TO FINA CONGRESS FOR USA IN SEOUL, KOREA, 1988; MANAGER, USA WATER POLO TEAM, WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, 1973; WORKED FOR FINA SECRETARIAT; WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, 1978; MEMBER USA WATER POLO DELEGATION, 1982 AND 1986 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS; CHEF-DE-MISSION, USA AQUATIC TEAMS, 1991 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS; MEMBER ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, WATER POLO OFFICIAL, 1998 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS; FINA CUP, 1999; MEET DIRECTOR, WATER POLO 2006 AND 2010 FINA MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS; SECRETARY USAS: 1978-1988; MEMBER UANA: WATER POLO COMMITTEE 1963-1975 (CHAIR 1973-1975); MEMBER UANA EXECUTIVE BOARD: 1975-1995 (SECRETARY-TREASURER 1979-1983); TEAM LEADER OF THE OLYMPIC CLUB WITH 20 FINA MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALS
For over 50 years, the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) has recognized a category of honorees known as “contributors.” They are the unsung heroes who have used their talents and work behind the scenes to positively impact the aquatic sports and help create platforms for others to achieve fame and glory.
Andy Burke grew up in San Francisco and in 1945, while still in high school, he started playing water polo for the Olympic Club of San Francisco. After nearly a decade as the team’s center back, he traded in his suit and cap for a referee flag and whistle and took on administrative duties that quickly earned him the respect and admiration of his peers. In 1960, he was elected Chairman of the National AAU water polo committee and from 1961 through 1964 he also served as Chairman of water polo for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Burke oversaw the Olympic team selection process and served as manager for the USA Water Polo team at the 1964 Tokyo Games. From 1966 through 1976, he served as Chairman of the AAU Water Polo Rules Committee and internationally, he served on the Technical Water Polo Committee UANA, the Swimming Union of the Americas, from 1963 through 1975, and on the UANA Executive Board from 1975 to 1995.
While Andy served in many leadership positions during his career, he always put the athletes and swimming sports first, even if it meant stepping aside and helping others who he thought could be more effective as leaders. Among those Andy assisted to rise above him was a tall, debonair young midwestern lawyer and water polo player by the name of Bob Helmick. From their first meeting in the early 1960s, Andy recognized his talents as a future leader. “The smartest man I ever met,” Burke says. And for the next two decades, Andy served as Helmick’s advisor, promoter and unofficial “campaign manager” as he rose to positions of power from within the AAU and Olympic water polo committees to the presidency of FINA in 1984 and finally as President of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1988. Among the many ways Bob Helmick repaid Andy for his support was by designating him Chef d’Mission to lead the U.S. Delegation at the 1991 FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia.
Andy played a similar role in the early career of Dr. Julio Maglione. He had been involved with the UANA organization since 1963 and on the Executive Board for four years, when Maglione was elected President of UANA in 1979. The organization didn’t do much between Pan American Games, but the new president wanted that to change. Andy helped the new president turn his ideas into actions and their efforts caught the attention of FINA, especially Bob Helmick. In 1984, Dr. Maglione moved from UANA president to the FINA Bureau and serves as President of FINA today.
Andy continues today to serve as an example of the spirit of volunteerism. At the age of 88 years young, when most folks his age are content to sit at home and watch sports on TV, Andy Burke continues to referee high school water polo games, oversee the Masters water polo program of the Olympic Club and provide sage advice to the many leaders of today who seek him out.
Happy Birthday KIEREN PERKINS !!!
Kieren Perkins
2006 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (1500m freestyle), silver (400m freestyle); 1996 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (1500m freestyle); 200 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver (1500m freestyle): 11 WORLD RECORDS: three-800m, three-1500m, one-400m freestyle long course and one-800m, three-1500m freestyle short course; 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (1500m freestyle); 1994 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m, 1500m freestyle); 1990 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: silver (1500m freestyle); 1994 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (200m, 400m, 1500m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); 1998 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: bronze (1500m freestyle); 1991 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle); 1993 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle), silver (4x200m freestyle); 1995 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (1500m freestyle), silver (800m freestyle)
Only three other swimmers had won Olympic medals in two Olympic Games in the 1500m freestyle – Murray Rose (AUS) 1956 & 1960; Michael Burton (USA) 1968 & 1972 and Vladimir Salnikov (URS) 1980 & 1988 – until Kieren Perkins won a third 1500m Olympic medal (1992, 1996 & 2000). All totaled in Olympic competition, he captured two gold and a silver in the 1500m freestyle and a silver in the 400m freestyle. He set 11 world records, holding the 1500m freestyle record for nine years, the 800m for ten years and the 400m freestyle for five years. When swimming a 1500m freestyle race at the 1991 Pan Pacific Championships, he stopped at the 800m mark to be sure the 800m world record was his and then continued to win the race. In the 1996 Olympic 1500m race, he won the hearts of his countrymen when he barely made the Olympic Team, qualified last for the final, but came back to win the gold medal. He already held the world record.
Coach John Carew trained Kieren to swim the longer freestyle events. He could start each race swimming fast, take the lead and go the whole race about the same speed. That is what made him so hard to catch.
