Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband
Currently alive, at 35 years of age.
Nationality: Dutch
Categories: Athlete, Swimmer
1978 - Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband, born on the 14th of March in Geldrop, near Eindhoven. He is a Dutch swimmer and a triple Olympic champion. He is the current world record holder in 100 m freestyle swimming (47.84s).
1993 - Achieved his first successes, performing well on the European Youth Olympic Days.
1996 - His international breakthrough came at the 96' Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Only 18 years old, he surprised many by finishing 4th in both the 100 and 200 m freestyle.
1999 - Won 6 gold medals at the 99' European Championships.
2000 - He was one of the favourites at the Summer Olympics, but his adversaries were formidable.
- In the 100 m freestyle, he again set a world record in the semi-finals and won his second gold medal, defeating the 92' and 96' champion, Alexander Popov.
- He was named the 00' Male World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine.
2001 - At the 01' Aquatics World Championships, he won four silver medals in the 50, 100, 200 and 4 x 100 m freestyle events.
2004 - At the 04' Summer Olympics in Athens, he won a gold medal in the 100m freestyle and two silvers in the 200m freestyle and the 4 x 100m freestyle relay.