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Matt Biondi
- Three-time Olympian (1984, 1988, 1992) winning a total of 11 Olympic medals
- 1988 Olympic champion in the 50m, 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle relay, 400m medley relay and 800m freestyle relay, silver medalist in the 100m butterfly, bronze medalist in the 200m freestyle
- 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m freestyle relay and 400m medley relay (prelims), silver medalist in the 50m freestyle
- 1984 Olympic champion in the 400m freestyle relay
- Set world records in four of his five gold medal races at the 1988 Olympics
- Swam the 100m butterfly at the 1988 Olympics as the favorite, but came up short for the gold by 0.01 hundredths of a second – “One one-hundredth of a second,” said Biondi. “What if I had grown my fingernails longer?”
- Repeated his 1986 wins of the 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle relay, 400m medley relay at the 1991 World Championships where he also won a silver in the 50m freestyle
- Won a silver medal (100m butterfly) and three additional bronze medals ( 50m, 200m freestyle, 800m freestyle relay) at the 1986 World Championships
- Has a career total of 17 U.S. National titles
- Named the World Swimmer of the Year twice (1986, 1988) and NCAA Swimmer of the Year three times (1985-1987)
- Won 13 NCAA Championship titles and three NCAA water polo championship titles
- Is one of two swimmers, along with Mark Spitz, to have won seven medals in one Olympics and is also tied for the most Olympic medals ever won by an American (11) with Spitz
- Inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1997, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004
- Co-founded the Delphys Foundation, which supports marine mammal research and education studies … co-starred in CBS special Dolphins, Whales and US … campaigned for consumer awareness and dolphin safe tuna with the Humane Society all in 1989
- Idolized by Denmark’s Pieter van den Hoogenband because they both have swim/ water polo backgrounds … Van den Hoogenband owns many of Biondi’s races on tape
- Wears a shoe size 14 and has a ‘wing span’ equal to more than his height
Biondi was considered a powerhouse in the freestyle events. He was 5-year-old who false started twice and lost his swim suit on the dive in his first competition, Biondi got on track fast. He was the first man to break the 49 seconds barrier in the 100m freestyle. He set 12 world records in his career, six of the records were individual and the other six were in both freestyle and medley relays. Biondi was the first man to qualify for the World Championships in four different events (1986) and became the first to win the most medals at a single World Championships (three gold medals, one silver, three bronze).
On the experience of competing: "Enjoy the journey, enjoy ever moment, and quit worrying about winning and losing.” (Found on thinkexist.com)
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Height: 6’ 6”
Born: 10/8/1965
Hometown: Moraga, Calif.
Sport: Swimming
Event: Freestyle |
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