Matt Biondi

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Matt Biondi swim
Personal information
Surname: Matthew Nicholas Biondi
Nickname (s): "The California Condor"
Nation: United StatesUnited States United States
Swimming style (s) : Freestyle , butterfly
College team: UC Berkeley
Birthday: 8th October 1965 (age 54)
Place of birth: Moraga , California
Size: 2.01 m
Medal table
Olympic Summer Games 8 × gold 2 × silver 1 × bronze
Swimming world championships 6 × gold 2 × silver 3 × bronze
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 13 × gold 3 × silver 2 × bronze
Universiade 4 × gold 1 × silver 0 × bronze
Medals

Matthew ("Matt") Nicholas Biondi (born October 8, 1965 in Moraga ) is a retired American swimmer and water polo player .

Career

In addition to swimming, Matt Biondi was also active on his university team's water polo team. He was able to win the NCAA championships in 1983, 1984 and 1987 . Biondi only celebrated international success in swimming.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , Matt Biondi won his first gold medal with the US 4 × 100 m freestyle relay . On August 6, 1985, he improved the world record in the 100 m freestyle twice in a competition in Mission Viejo . In the second race he was the first swimmer ever to break the 49-second mark with 48.95 seconds. In the following years Biondi improved the world record on this route twice, the last time at the Olympic eliminations in Austin in 1988 , to 48.42 seconds. This record was to last for 6 years until a new era in 100 m freestyle swimming was ushered in with Alexander Popow .

As expected, Matt Biondi won the 100 m freestyle at the 1986 World Championships in Madrid . But in addition to his special route, Biondi also had medal chances on other routes. In addition to two other gold medals in the relay competitions (4 × 100 m individual medley, 4 × 100 m freestyle), he also won silver over the 100 m butterfly and bronze over 50 m and 200 m freestyle in the championships. With the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, Biondi was able to add another bronze plaque to his extensive collection of medals.

At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul , Biondi was able to win not only the 100 m freestyle but also half the distance. In doing so, he not only left his worst rival behind with Tom Jager , against whom he was defeated ten times in 14 comparisons on this route, but also wrested the world record from him. There was also a silver medal in the 100 m butterfly and bronze in the 200 m freestyle. While the gold medal in the 50 m freestyle was considered a small surprise success, the silver medal in the butterfly decision was a disappointment for Biondi. Due to the absence of world record holder Pablo Morales, he was the clear top favorite on this route . This prediction seemed to be confirmed until shortly before the end of the race, when the American clearly led the field with half a body length. In the belief of a certain victory, Biondi therefore decided against the last arm stroke and instead let himself slide to the edge of the pool. That was his undoing because he was caught by Anthony Nesty from Suriname and was finally relegated to second place by a hundredth of a second. But with three more gold medals from the relay competitions, Biondi won the most medals at these games and was the most successful participant after the six-time Olympic champion Kristin Otto from the GDR .

In the post-Olympic year, Matt Biondi focused primarily on water polo and made the leap into the US national team. In early 1990, however, he returned to swimming and was able to successfully defend his title in the 100 m freestyle at the 1991 World Championships in Perth the following year . In addition, he won the silver medal over the short sprint distance behind Tom Jager, who had meanwhile regained the world record. With the two sprint relays, Biondi managed to defend two more titles.

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona , Matt Biondi was able to win gold twice with the 4 × 100 m freestyle and the 4 × 100 m individual relay relay, where he was only used in the run-up to the latter. On the other hand, he was denied another victory over the individual routes. Over 50 m freestyle he won at least one silver medal. In the 100 m distance, Biondi took 5th place as the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder.

After Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz, Biondi is the most successful swimmer in the history of the Olympic Games. In total, he won eight gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal in three games. He also set a total of 13 world records. He was named American Swimmer of the Year in 1985, 1986 and 1988, and World Swimmer of the Year in 1986 and 1988. In 1997, Biondi, who retired from active sport in 1993, was accepted into the international swimming pool 's hall of fame .

successes

Olympic games

  • Los Angeles 1984
    • Gold : 4 × 100 m freestyle relay
  • Seoul 1988
    • Gold : 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, 4 × 100 m individual relay relay, 4 × 200 m freestyle relay
    • Silver : 100 m butterfly
    • Bronze : 200 m freestyle
  • Barcelona 1992
    • Gold : 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, 4 × 100 m individual relay relay
    • Silver : 50 m freestyle

World championships

  • Madrid 1986
    • Gold : 100 m freestyle, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, 4 × 100 m individual relay relay
    • Silver : 100 m butterfly
    • Bronze : 50 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle, 4 × 200 m freestyle relay
  • Perth 1991
    • Gold : 100 m freestyle, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, 4 × 100 m individual relay relay
    • Silver : 50 m freestyle

Top performances

Long track
50 m freestyle 22.09 s July 30, 1992 Barcelona
100 m freestyle 48.42 s * August 10, 1988 Austin
200 m freestyle 1: 47.72 s August 8, 1988 Austin
100 m butterfly 53.01 s September 21, 1988 Seoul

* Official world record at the time of creation

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "The great Olympia Lexicon", Sport-Bild from June 19, 1996, p. 36.
personal data
SURNAME Biondi, Matt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Biondi, Matthew Nicholas (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American swimmer
DATE OF BIRTH October 8, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Moraga , California