Pieter van den Hoogenband
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Pieter Cornelis Martijn•van den Hoogenband |
| Used name | Pieter•van den Hoogenband |
| Nick/petnames | VDH, Hoogie, The Dutch Dolphin |
| Born | 14 March 1978 in Maastricht, Limburg (NED) |
| Measurements | 193 cm / 80 kg |
| Affiliations | Philips Sportvereniging, Eindhoven (PSV) |
| NOC |  Netherlands |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 3 |
| Silver | 2 |
| Bronze | 2 |
| Total | 7 |
Biography
After narrowly missing the podium twice in Atlanta, Pieter van den Hoogenband broke through to the top in the next Olympiad. His first international titles came in 1999, when he won six gold medals at the European Championships in Istanbul. He confirmed his status as the best freestyle sprint swimmer at the Sydney Olympics. In a close race with home favourite Ian Thorpe, he won the 200 m freestyle in world record time. Two days later, in the Olympic semi-finals, he became the first man to swim the 100 m free in less than 48 seconds. He won the final as well, beating two-time champion Aleksandr Popov.
In 2001 and 2003, Van den Hoogenband attempted to win a world title, but failed to do so. Throughout his career, he won 8 silver medals at the World Championships, but never a gold medal. He did retain his Olympic 100 m title in Athens, adding silver medals in the 200 and 4 x 100 relay. His career seemed over in 2005, when he was diagnosed with a hernia in his back, which had long been a painful area for the swimmer. But Van den Hoogenband fought back and celebrated his return with a European title in the 200 m freestyle in 2006. He then set his sights on winning a third consecutive 100 m title at the Beijing Olympics, but eventually finished just outside the medals. In December 2008, the swimming pool in Eindhoven where Van den Hoogenband had trained much of his career was named after him. Earlier in the year, Van den Hoogenband had lost his 100 m world record to Alain Bernard in the same pool.
Van den Hoogenband was named Dutch sportsman of the year three times (1999, 2000, 2004), World Swimmer of the Year (2000) and European Swimmer of the Year (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004).
Results
Olympic family relations
- Husband of Minouche Smit
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Set a European Record in Long Course Swimming (100 m freestyle – 19 September 2000 - 21 March 2008: 47.84 (19 September 2000; Sydney, AUS); 200 m freestyle – 18 December 1999 - 14 June 2009: 1:46.58 (18 December 1999; Eindhoven, NED), 1:45.35 (17 September 2000; Sydney, AUS), 1:45.35 tied (18 September 2000; Sydney, AUS), 1:44.89 (2 August 2002; Berlin, GER); 4×100 m freestyle relay – 26 July 1999 - 20 July 2003: 3:16.27 (26 July 1999; İstanbul, TUR), 3:14.56 (22 July 2001; Fukuoka, JPN))
- Listed in Olympians Who Set a European Record in Short Course Swimming (200 m freestyle – 16 December 2001 - 16 November 2008: 1:42.46 (16 December 2001; Antwerpen, BEL), 1:42.45 (26 January 2003; Berlin, GER), 1:41.89 (14 December 2003; Dublin, IRL); 4×50 m freestyle relay – 12 December 1998 - 16 December 2001 and 14 December 2003 - 11 December 2005: 1:26.99 (12 December 1998; Sheffield, GBR), 1:25.55 (14 December 2003; Dublin, IRL); 4×100 m freestyle relay – 1 April 1999 - 16 March 2000: 3:11.57 (1 April 1999; Hong Kong, HKG); 4×200 m freestyle relay – 2 April 1999 - 17 March 2000: 7:04.48 (2 April 1999; Hong Kong, HKG))
- Listed in Olympians Who Set a World Record in Long Course Swimming (100 m freestyle – 19 September 2000 - 21 March 2008: 47.84 (19 September 2000; Sydney, AUS); 200 m freestyle – 17 September 2000 - 27 March 2001: 1:45.35 (17 September 2000; Sydney, AUS), 1:45.35 tied (18 September 2000; Sydney, AUS))
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the European Aquatics Championships (10–5–4 1997 Sevilla SWM silver: 4×200 m freestyle relay, bronze: 4×100 m freestyle relay; 1999 İstanbul SWM gold: 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle, 50 m butterfly, 4×100 m freestyle relay, and 4×100 m medley relay; 2000 Helsinki SWM silver: 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, and 200 m freestyle, bronze: 4×200 m freestyle relay; 2002 Berlin SWM gold: 100 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle; 2004 Madrid SWM gold: 200 m freestyle, silver: 100 m freestyle; 2006 Budapest SWM gold: 200 m freestyle, bronze: 100 m freestyle; 2008 Eindhoven SWM bronze: 4×100 m freestyle relay)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the European Swimming Championships (25 m) (8–4–3 1998 Sheffield gold: 200 m freestyle and 4×50 m freestyle relay, silver: 100 m freestyle, bronze: 50 m freestyle; 1999 Lisboa gold: 100 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle, silver: 50 m freestyle, bronze: 4×50 m freestyle relay; 2001 Antwerpen gold: 200 m freestyle, silver: 100 m freestyle and 4×50 m freestyle relay, bronze: 50 m freestyle; 2003 Dublin gold: 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle, and 4×50 m freestyle relay)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Aquatics Championships (0–8–2 1998 Perth SWI silver: 4×200 m freestyle relay, bronze: 200 m freestyle; 2001 Fukuoka SWI silver: 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle, and 4×100 m freestyle relay; 2003 Barcelona SWI silver: 100 m freestyle and 200 m freestyle, bronze: 50 m freestyle; 2007 Melbourne SWI silver: 200 m freestyle)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Short-Course Swimming Championships (25 m) (1–1–1 1999 Hong Kong gold: 4×200 m freestyle relay, silver: 4×100 m freestyle relay, bronze: 200 m freestyle)
- Listed in Olympic Swimmers - Doubles Champions, Same Year (2000 100/200 Freestyle Champion.)
- Listed in Olympians Who Were Elected Dutch Athlete of the Year (1999, 2000, 2004)