(24 July 1996; Day 05)
Denis PANKRATOV (RUS) came to Atlanta as another entry in the 100m and 200m butterfly, but on 22 July, day three of the 1996 Olympic Games, he established himself as the fastest human in the 200m butterfly with an impressive time of 1:56.51. Thursday night, he became a two-time Olympic champion, by winning the 100m butterfly over rival Scott MILLER of Australia.
In the qualifying heats, MILLER set an Olympic record of 52.89, and looked poised to win gold. In the finals, he swam a 52.53, but found himself touching the wall 0.26 seconds behind PANKRATOV.
Famous for his 30-meter swim under water at the start of the race and 5 meters off the turns, PANKRATOV popped up out of the water ahead of the rest of the field, touching the wall midway through the race on a world record pace (24.19). He exploded through the water in the last 30m to win the gold and establish a world record of 52.27. PANKRATOV had broken his old mark of 53.32, set in Vienna, AUT on 23 August, 1995. "Everything happened the way I thought it would," stated PANKRATOV. "I was ready for it, I worked for it, and that's what happened."
Since finishing sixth in the 200m butterfly in Barcelona as an unknown 17 year-old, PANKROTOV has dominated this event. He has been the undisputed champion at the 1993 European Championships, 1994 FINA World Championships, 1995 European Championships and now Atlanta. His world marks have been so far ahead of the rest of the field that he has been described by one competitor as "extraterrestrial." After Thursday's performance, he has posted the first (52.27) and third (52.96) fastest times in Olympic history; and the first, second (52.32) and fifth (52.96) fastest times in history. He also became only the second swimmer in Olympic history to win the 100m and 200m butterfly in the same Olympic Games. Marc SPITZ (USA) accomplished this feat in 1972.
At age 22, PANKRATOV has already established himself as one of the greatest swimmers in the world. With Sydney four years away, he might have completed his final race in Olympic competition, unless asked to swim in the 4 X 200m freestyle relay and 4 X 100m medley relay. He has already won a silver in the 4 X 100m freestyle relay. With his help the Russians could be a major medal contender.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by David Blanchard
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| Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium. |