Roland Schoeman
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Roland Mark Schoeman (born 3 July 1980) is a South African swimmer and was a member of the South African swim team at the 2000 Olympic Games, 2004 Olympic Games, 2008 Olympic Games, and the 2012 Olympic Games.
Career
Born in Pretoria, Schoeman first took an interest in the sport when he was 13, and began to compete three years later.[1] He has said that he began swimming to show a girl how interested he was in her.[2] This marked the beginning of a career that would see him attain a gold, silver and bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games; three gold, a silver and a bronze World Championship medals, as well as four gold, three silvers and three bronzes at the Commonwealth Games. He set new South African records in the 100 m Freestyle (48.69 s), 50 m Freestyle (22.04 s), 100 m Butterfly (52.73 s) and 50 m Butterfly (23.65 s) events.
He won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in the 4 × 100 m freestyle, a silver medal in the 100 m freestyle event and a bronze in the 50 m freestyle. Three of the Men's 100 metre Freestyle team were in the team that broke the record and won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He also claimed golds in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly.
Schoeman, who is asthmatic, was voted the African Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World in 2004, 2005 and 2006; and the South African Swimmer of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. He was elected South African Sports Star of the Year in 2004.[3]
In 2007, he received the South African Presidential Award Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, awarded for excellent achievements in the field of swimming.[4]
At the 2005 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Canada he won two gold medals [50 m Butterfly (in a world record time of 22.96 s) and Freestyle (21.69 s, the second fastest time in history at the time)]. He also claimed a silver in 100 m freestyle.
In December 2005, Schoeman turned down a 40 Million Rand (US$5.9 million) contract to swim for Qatar.[5] He stated reasons of national pride for turning down the offer and that hearing the South African national anthem and sharing the joy of his victories with his fellow South Africans is what made winning gold special.
At the 2007 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne Australia he successfully defended his 50m butterfly title. He also made the final of the 50 m and 100 m freestyle and was part of the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team that finished fourth. On 6 September 2008 Roland Schoeman set a new short course meters world record of 20.64 at South African Nationals. Schoeman, lost his world record in late 2008 but regained his record. At the Short Course World Record at South Africa Championships, Schoeman swam a 20.30 seconds of the 50 meter freestyle short course (25 m pool).
In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Schoeman, aged 32, advanced to the final in the Men's 50m freestyle, clocking a 21.80 to finish .46 seconds behind the gold medal winner, Florent Manaudou.
Career best times
Schoeman has broken three long course world records (two individual, one relay) and six short course world records (all individual).
| Event | Time | Record | Date | Location |
| Long course | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50m Freestyle | 21.67 | SA Record Holder | 16 Aug 2008 | Beijing, China |
| 50m Freestyle | 21.67 = | SA Record Holder | 02 Aug 2013 | Barcelona, Spain |
| 100m Freestyle | 48.17 | Former SA Record Holder | 15 Aug 2004 | Athens, Greece |
| 50m Butterfly | 22.90 | Former WR Holder | 26 Jul 2009 | Rome, Italy |
| 4 × 100 m Freestyle | 3:11.93 | Former WR Holder | 26 Jul 2009 | Rome, Italy |
| Short course | ||||
| 50m Freestyle | 20.30 | Former WR Holder | 8 August 2009 | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
| 100m Freestyle | 46.25 | Former WR Holder | 22 January 2005 | Berlin, Germany |
| 50m Butterfly | 21.87 | 14 Nov 2009 | Berlin, Germany | |
| 100m IM | 52.20 | Former WR Holder | 13 Aug 2006 | Hamburg, Germany |
Accolades
In 2004 he was inducted into the University of Pretoria Sport Hall of fame.[6]
See also
- List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- World record progression 50 metres freestyle
- World record progression 100 metres freestyle
References
- ↑ "roland2012.com".
- ↑ "Roland Schoeman uncut". iafrica.com.
- ↑ "roland2012.com".
- ↑ "Team SA profile: Roland Schoeman". SouthAfrica.info.
- ↑ "I am an African: Roland Schoeman". SouthAfrica.info.
- ↑ http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=10413 Hall of fame Retrieved 25 June 2011
External links
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Foster |
Men's 50-metre freestyle world record-holder (short course) 23 March 2000 – 23 March 2000 Shared with Mark Foster |
Succeeded by Anthony Ervin |
| Preceded by Thomas Rupprath |
Men's 100-metre individual medley world record-holder (short course) 18 January 2005 – 22 January 2005 |
Succeeded by Ryk Neethling |
| Preceded by Ian Crocker |
Men's 50-metre butterfly world record-holder (long course) 24 July 2005 – 5 April 2009 |
Succeeded by Rafael Muñoz |
| Preceded by Frédérick Bousquet |
Men's 50-metre freestyle world record-holder (short course) 12 August 2006 – 18 November 2007 |
Succeeded by Stefan Nystrand |
| Preceded by Duje Draganja |
Men's 50-metre freestyle world record-holder (short course) 7 September 2008 – 11 December 2008 |
Succeeded by Amaury Leveaux |
| Preceded by Amaury Leveaux |
Men's 50-metre freestyle world record-holder (short course) 8 August 2009 – |
Succeeded by Amaury Leveaux |
| Preceded by Ian Crocker |
Men's 100-metre freestyle world record-holder (short course) 22 January 2005 – 17 December 2007 |
Succeeded by Stefan Nystrand |
| Preceded by Amaury Leveaux |
Men's 50-metre freestyle world record-holder (short course) 8 August 2009 – 5 December 2014 |
Succeeded by Florent Manaudou |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Not available |
World African Swimmer of the Year 2004 – 2007 |
Succeeded by Ous Mellouli |
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