Sydney 25th Anniversary: When Pieter van den Hoogenband Took the 100 Freestyle Into Sub-48 Territory

Sydney twenty fifth Anniversary: When Pieter van den Hoogenband Took the 100 Freestyle Into Sub-48 Territory

Twenty-five years for the reason that Olympic Video games too place in Sydney, we rejoice the greatness of Pieter van den Hoogenband. The Dutchman produced a Corridor of Fame profession that featured seven Olympic medals, together with three gold, and landed him enshrinement into the Worldwide Swimming Corridor of Fame as a member of the Class of 2013.

********************************************

Typically, the matters of our World File Flashback sequence are straightforward to pick out, as there’s a predominant efficiency from an athlete to focus on. At occasions, the decision-making course of is tough, given the a number of squares of greatness on the Bingo card of success. See Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky as examples.

Within the case of Pieter van den Hoogenband, the Dutch standout supplied two choices for this sequence. Because the Olympic motion ventured into the 2000s, with Sydney serving as host, van den Hoogenband was nothing wanting phenomenal throughout his journey Down Below, as he unassumingly grew to become an Olympic champion.

If we selected the 200-meter freestyle as the point of interest of this piece, it could have made sense. In spite of everything, over 4 laps is the place van den Hoogenband upset Australian Ian Thorpe, the hometown favourite and poster boy of the Sydney Video games. However that triumph has acquired its due by way of the years, so it appeared becoming to acknowledge the event when van den Hoogenband cracked the 48-second barrier within the 100 freestyle.

********************************************

The 100 freestyle has lengthy been thought of the Blue-Ribbon occasion of the game, courting again to the early days of the twentieth century, when Charlie Daniels and Duke Kahanamoku etched their names within the historical past books. They had been adopted by the dominance of the legendary Johnny Weissmuller, with greats comparable to Don Schollander, Michael Wenden, Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi and Alexander Popov ultimately claiming Olympic glory over the two-lap self-discipline.

As consultants analyzed the Sydney Video games and the rostrum challengers throughout the schedule, van den Hoogenband was actually accorded medal-contender standing within the 100 freestyle. As an 18-year-old on the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, “Hoogie” introduced his presence on the worldwide stage. Behind a pair of fourth-place outings within the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle, van den Hoogenband simply missed the rostrum, however established the framework for the stellar profession that might comply with.

Within the years between Atlanta and Sydney, VDH grew to become a multi-time European champion, his talent molded by coach Jacco Verhaeren. It was a matter of time earlier than that excellence prolonged from the continental degree to worldwide dominance.

Whereas he wasn’t the overwhelming favourite for gold within the 100 free upon his arrival in Sydney, that label modified when van den Hoogenband set a world report (1:45.35) within the semifinals of the 200 freestyle. He then equaled that world commonplace to upend Thorpe within the ultimate and have become the person to beat for the two-lap occasion. VDH’s defeat of Thorpe was a shock second, for the reason that Aussie teen was broadly anticipated to comb the 200 free and 400 free. Certainly, Thorpe delivered within the longer distance, however the Dutch star had a shock ready for the 200 free.

Van den Hoogenband nonetheless confronted a gauntlet within the 100 freestyle, particularly the tandem of Russia’s Alexander Popov and Australian Michael Klim. Popov was the two-time defending champion, having claimed Olympic crowns in 1992 and 1996. Extra, he entered the week because the world-record holder at 48.21.

In the meantime, Klim was driving a wave of momentum and had the complete assist of the Australian crowd. On the opening night time of motion, his leadoff leg of 48.18 propelled Australia to gold within the 400 freestyle relay, a title which handed the US its first Olympic loss within the occasion. Klim’s time additionally broke Popov’s world mark and enhanced the plot of the 100 freestyle

*************************************************

One night time after toppling Thorpe within the 200 freestyle, van den Hoogenband eased by way of his preliminary warmth of the 100 freestyle in 48.64. That effort was the lone sub-49 marker of the opening spherical and good for the highest seed coming into the semifinals, the place van den Hoogenband figured to do exactly sufficient to guarantee a middle lane for the ultimate. But, as was the case within the semifinals of the 200 free, the Flying Dutchman opted to press the tempo – at a degree by no means earlier than seen.

Not like a lot of his rivals, van den Hoogenband didn’t boast a hulking physique. A 6-3, 175-pounder, he possessed a wiry body, with a concave chest that paid dividends within the water. Van den Hoogenband and the Dutch teaching employees usually famous that his construct resembled the hull of a catamaran and created much less drag.

Racing within the second semifinal on the Sydney Aquatic Centre, van den Hoogenband turned in a gap lap of 23.16 and got here dwelling in 24.68. In the present day, sub-25 closing performances are the norm, with Kyle Chalmers and David Popovici having been 24-low. However van den Hoogenband was forward of his time together with his closing pace, and his competitors paid the value.

By way of his world report of 47.84, van den Hoogenband sliced .34 off what Klim managed just a few days earlier in relay obligation. Eternally, VDH would go down in historical past as a barrier breaker, becoming a member of Jim Montgomery (sub-50 in 1976) and Matt Biondi (sub-49 in 1985) in swimming lore.

Within the ultimate, van den Hoogenband couldn’t match his pace from the semifinals, however nonetheless comfortably prevailed. His time of 48.30 was almost a half-second adrift of his newly minted world report, however properly forward of Popov’s mark of 48.69 for the silver medal, and the 48.73 of American Gary Corridor Jr. for the bronze. Locked out of the medals was Klim, who couldn’t replicate his relay heroics within the 100 freestyle and completed fourth in 48.74.

Van den Hoogenband was minimalistic within the evaluation of his work.

“I received two gold medals and broke two world data,” he stated. “At this second, I’m the most effective.”

*************************************************

For good measure, van den Hoogenband capped his journey to Sydney with a bronze medal within the 50 freestyle. Clocking 22.03, the Dutchman completed simply behind the American tandem of Anthony Ervin and Hal Jr., who shared the gold medal in 21.98. For “Hoogie,” that further piece of {hardware} was a shock, as he touched the wall forward of dash specialists comparable to Popov, Bart Kizierowski and Mark Foster.

4 years later, when the Olympic Video games returned to their birthplace of Athens, van den Hoogenband repeated as champion of the 100 freestyle and earned silver within the 200 freestyle, with Thorpe exacting revenge from Sydney. Extra, his world report endured for greater than seven years and stays an outstanding time within the current day.

“On the finish of the day (we had one main aim): To interrupt 48 seconds for the 100 freestyle,” Verhaeren stated. “We didn’t say we needed to win, or we wish to do that and that. After all, the chance if you do that’s profitable. However we needed to be the primary athlete to interrupt 48 seconds and we’d go from there.”

The job was achieved.