Swimming World Presents “Did You Know? Fun Facts in Aquatic History: Pieter van den Hoogenband and Mark Spitz”

Swimming World July 2019 - Did You Know - Mark Spitz and Pieter van den Hoogenband

Did You Know?
Fun Facts in Aquatic History:
Pieter van den Hoogenband and Mark Spitz

By Andy Ross

Pieter van den Hoogenband and Mark Spitz never won gold medals at the Long Course World Championships…but for different reasons.

Spitz retired after the 1972 Olympic Games when he won seven gold medals. Van den Hoogenband settled for silver medals after finishing runner-up six times to some of the biggest names the sport has ever seen. Even the two times he swam on his country’s medal-winning relays (1998 and 2001), the Netherlands finished second!

MARK SPITZ
Spitz told Swimming World after the Munich Games in 1972, “I had to come back from a defeat in Mexico City that was hard to live with. I don’t know if I’d do it again…but I don’t have to.” Since there weren’t any opportunities for swimmers to continue professionally, Spitz retired after two Olympic Games with 11 medals (9 gold/1 silver/1bronze)—and just before FINA introduced the World Championships in 1973.
After he won his second of two gold medals in Munich, he told the media, “I never swam for glory—only for the satisfaction of being recognized as the best in the world in a particular event. That’s the goal of any athlete, isn’t it?”

PIETER VAN DEN HOOGENBAND
Van den Hoogenband had plenty of opportunities to win gold medals at Long Course Worlds. He made his debut in 1998, when he earned a bronze (200 meter free) and silver (4×200 free relay) at 19. He became a household name two years later at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney when he took down hometown favorite Ian Thorpe in the 200 final, breaking the Aussie’s world record with a 1:45.35 in semifinals and matching that a day later in the final.

Hoogie became the first man to break 48 seconds in the 100 free when he swam a 47.84 in semifinals the day after the 200. The next night in the final, he swam a 48.30, which was still fast enough to deny Alexander Popov from becoming the first man to win three straight Olympic gold medals in any event.

To read more fun facts about Mark Spitz and Pieter van den Hoogenband,
check out the full July 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!

SW July 2019 Cover Kyle Chalmers

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FEATURES

019 CRUNCH TIME!
by Michael Randazzo
With the Olympic Games a little more than a year away, the U.S. men’s water polo team—whose head coach predicted a gold medal in Tokyo—has yet to qualify. They’ll get a chance to punch their ticket if they can finish first at the Pan American Games next month in Lima, Peru.

023 THE VALUE OF AQUATIC SPORTS: TEDDY CANN SAVES THE MAY
by Bruce Wigo
While serving as a seaman onboard the USS May in November 1917, Tedford “Teddy” Cann, an elite swimmer, water polo player and all-around athlete, risked his life to find—and fix—a leak in a flooded compartment, thereby saving the ship.

026 DESTINED FOR GREATNESS
by David Rieder
Perhaps it was always meant to be that Kyle Chalmers would be a champion swimmer. Despite his childhood dreams of playing professional football, he eventually decided to pursue swimming seriously in 2015. The next year, at 18, he won Olympic gold in the men’s 100 free. After undergoing heart surgery in 2017, he rebounded in 2018 to win a combined nine medals (five gold) at the Pan Pacs and Commonwealth Games. Now, all eyes are on Chalmers to win gold at this month’s World Championships.

COACHING

010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: RATKO RUDIC
by Michael J. Stott

014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: PREVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL SWIM COACHES ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME SUMMIT
by Rod Havriluk
The ISCA Hall of Fame Summit, Aug. 27-30, in Clearwater Beach, Fla., will once again include a wide variety of topics, international presenters and participants from many countries. The presentations will emphasize the WHY (the scientific basis) as well as the HOW (the strategies for applying the science) to improve swimmer performance.

016 PLAN B: COLLEGE CLUB TEAM OPTION (Part 2)
by Michael J. Stott
College Club Swimming has been offering more and more athletes the opportunity to continue participating in the sport they love. In Part 2 of this two-part series, Swimming World explores more personal perspectives from swimmers pursuing their aquatic passion while enjoying a college experience unencumbered by the demands of a varsity athlete.

020 SPECIAL SETS: WORKOUTS OF A WORLD CHAMPION
by Michael J. Stott
In 2017, Coach Gregg Troy put together a plan to maximize Caeleb Dressel’s opportunities at the World Championships in Budapest. Following are eight workouts done by Dressel in his preparation for what resulted in a record seven gold medals.

043 Q&A WITH COACH ANTHONY NESTY
by Michael J. Stott

044 HOW THEY TRAIN ROBERT FINKE
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

013 DRYSIDE TRAINING: EXERCISE EQUIPMENT SERIES—MULTI-EQUIPMENT PROGRAM FOR STRENGTH AND POWER
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

046 UP & COMERS: RAQUEL MALDONADO
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

009 BEYOND THE YARDS

022 OFFICIAL WORD

025 DID YOU KNOW? MARK SPITZ & PIETER VAN DEN HOOGENBAND

030 2019 AQUATIC DIRECTORY

042 DADS ON DECK

047 GUTTER TALK

048 PARTING SHOT

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Montserrat Hidalgo
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