Pieter van den Hoogenband - Hall Of Fame Swimmer

• Pieter van den Hoogenband had a swimming pedigree as his mother was an 800m freestyle silver medalist from the European Championships.
• At age 18, he came 4th in both the 100m and 200m freestyle events at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. 
• After a very successful 1999 European Championships, van den Hoogenband was on a trajectory to dominate the 2000 Olympic Games. However, he faced stiff competition in his pet events, the 100m and 200m freestyle. Nonetheless, he beat out his rivals in record fashion.
• Pieter van den Hoogenband was also the first swimmer to ever crack the 48.00-second barrier in the men's 100m freestyle, which he did during the 2000 Olympic Games. 
• By the end of his career, he was the first swimmer to ever make the Olympic final in the same event four times, consecutively.

• 2000 Olympic Games: Gold (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle), Bronze (50m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle)
• 2004 Olympic Games: Gold (100m freestyle), Silver (200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle)
• 1998 World Championships: Silver (4x200m freestyle)
• 2001 World Championships: Silver (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle)
• 2003 World Championships: Silver (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle), Bronze (50m freestyle)
• 2007 World Championships:  Silver (200m freestyle)
• 1999 World Championships (25m): Gold (4x200m freestyle), Silver (4x100m freestyle), Bronze (200m freestyle)
• European Championships (25m): 6 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze
• European Championships (50m): 10 Gold, 5 Silver, 4 Bronze
• 1998 Goodwill Games: 2 Gold
• 2001 Goodwill Games: 2 Bronze 
• World Swimmer of the Year: 2000
• European Swimmer of the Year: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004
• Dutch Sportsman of the Year: 1999, 2000, 2004

His mother, Astrid Verner, is a former 800 meter freestyle silver medalist of the European Championships. His father Cees is the team doctor with the PSV Eindhovan professional football team and a FINA doctor. Astrid became coach of the Dutch swimming team and Cees provided the foundation to secure a financial base to keep the team operating.

Pieter van den Hoogenband was well on his way to become Holland’s greatest male swimmer alongside female swimmer Inge de Bruin. His international breakthrough came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when at 18, he exceeded expectations by finishing fourth in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle.

After winning six gold medals at the 1999 European Championships, he was one of the favorites at the 2000 Olympic Games. But in Sydney, he faced hometown favorite Ian Thorpe in the 200 and two time Russian Olympic Champion Alexander Popov in the 100 meter freestyle. “Hoogie” beat them both in world record time. His 100 meter freestyle record of 47.84 stood for a phenomenal eight years, longer than any other swimmers since Johnny Weissmuller in 1924. Pieter earned bronze medals in the 50 meter and 4 x 200 meter freestyle. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he won another gold medal in the 100 meter freestyle and silver in the 200 meter freestyle and 4 x 100 meter freestyle. In 2008, by finishing 5th in the 100 meter freestyle he became the first-ever swimmer to make the finals in four consecutive Olympics in the same event.

Throughout his career he received many prestigious awards, the most distinctive being World Swimmer of the Year in 2000.