Matt Biondi
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Swimming | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | 4x100 m Freestyle relay | |
| Gold | 1988 Seoul | 50 m Freestyle | |
| Gold | 1988 Seoul | 100 m Freestyle | |
| Gold | 1988 Seoul | 4x100 m Freestyle relay | |
| Gold | 1988 Seoul | 4x200 m Freestyle relay | |
| Gold | 1988 Seoul | 4x100 m Medley relay | |
| Silver | 1988 Seoul | 100 m Butterfly | |
| Bronze | 1988 Seoul | 200 m Freestyle | |
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | 4x100 m Freestyle relay | |
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | 4x100 m Medley relay | |
| Silver | 1992 Barcelona | 50 m Freestyle | |
Matthew ("Matt") Nicholas Biondi (born October 8, 1965 in Palo Alto). was a three-time U.S. Olympic swimmer in the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Summer Olympics, winning a total of 11 medals. In the 1988 Summer Olympics, Biondi equalled Mark Spitz as the second swimmer to win seven medals in one Games. Michael Phelps would win eight medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Biondi left Seoul with five golds, setting world records in four of those events.
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[edit] Biography
Biondi started his aquatics career as a swimmer and water polo player in his hometown of Moraga, California. As he moved into his teens, his incredible abilities as a swimmer -- specifically a sprinter -- began to emerge. Though he did not start swimming year-round until he started at Campolindo High School, by his senior year Biondi was the top schoolboy sprinter in America with a National High School record in the 50-yard freestyle (20.40). He accepted a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley to swim and play water polo, and enrolled in 1983. In his freshman year he played on Berkeley's NCAA Championship water polo team and made the consolation finals at the 1984 NCAA Swimming Championships.
That summer, Biondi surprised the swimming community by qualifying for a spot on the U.S. 4x100 meter freestyle relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The team won the gold medal in a world record time. Returning to Berkeley, Biondi once again played on an NCAA Champion water polo team in the fall and in the winter of 1985 won the first of his 13 individual swimming titles at NCAAs. He would be named NCAA Swimmer of the Year in 1985, 1986, and 1987, and would set several American and NCAA records.
Biondi set the first of his twelve individual swimming world records in 1985. He was the first man to swim the 100-meter freestyle faster than 49 seconds, and by 1988 he owned the ten fastest times swum in that event. He won a total 24 U.S. Championships in the 50, 100, and 200-meter freestyle events, as well as the 100-butterfly. In two World Championships (1986 and 1991), Biondi won 11 medals including six gold. During his career, he was a James E. Sullivan Award Finalist, the UPI Sportsman of the Year, the USOC Sportsman of the Year, and twice the Swimming World magazine Male Swimmer of the World (1986 and 1988). He is a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
He graduated from Berkeley in 1988 with a BA degree in Political Economy of Industrialized Societies (PEIS). He lives in Kamuela, Hawaii, where he teaches math, U.S. History, personal excellence, and swimming at Parker School, a small private prep school.
Biondi is married to his wife Kirsten. They married in 1995, and their son, Nathaniel (Nate), was born in 1998.
[edit] Trivia
Matt Biondi made a point of being the slowest person in the pool during warm up, no matter the skill level of the other swimmers surrounding him.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Matt Biondi's U.S. Olympic Team bio
- Matt Biondi's Entry on the International Swimming Hall of Fame website
| Olympic champions in men's 100 m freestyle |
|---|
| 1896: Alfréd Hajós | 1906: Charles Daniels | 1908: Charles Daniels | 1912: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku | 1920: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku | 1924: Johnny Weissmuller | 1928: Johnny Weissmuller | 1932: Yasuji Miyazaki | 1936: Ferenc Csík | 1948: Walter Ris | 1952: Clarke Scholes | 1956: Jon Henricks | 1960: John Devitt | 1964: Don Schollander | 1968: Michael Wenden | 1972: Mark Spitz | 1976: Jim Montgomery | 1980: Jörg Woithe | 1984: Rowdy Gaines | 1988: Matt Biondi | 1992: Alexander Popov | 1996: Alexander Popov | 2000: Pieter van den Hoogenband | 2004: Pieter van den Hoogenband |
| Olympic champions in men's 4x200 m freestyle relay |
|---|
|
1908 Great Britain - John Henry Derbyshire, Paul Radmilovic, William Foster, Henry Taylor |
| Preceded by Michael Gross |
World Swimmer of the Year 1986 |
Succeeded by Tamás Darnyi |
| Preceded by Tamás Darnyi |
World Swimmer of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Mike Barrowman |
| Preceded by Ben Johnson |
United Press International Athlete of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Boris Becker |
Categories: 1965 births | Living people | Italian-American sportspeople | Olympic swimmers of the United States | Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics | Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics | Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics | Swimming World World Swimmers of the Year | Summer Olympics medalists | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | Olympic silver medalists for the United States | Olympic bronze medalists for the United States | University of California, Berkeley alumni
