(25 July 1996; Day 06)
At the ripe old age of 14, Krisztina EGERSZEGI, a native of Budapest, Hungary, finished her first Olympic race in Seoul behind the great Kristin OTTO (GDR) in the 100m backstroke. Three days later she became the youngest swimmer in history to win a gold medal by defeating two German swimmers, Kathrin ZIMMERMANN and former world record holder and two-time world champion Cornelia SIRCH, in the 200m backstroke. Her gold medal performance brought her to the forefront of a legacy which has followed her for the past 12 years.
The world took notice in 1991 when EGERSZEGI set world records in both the 100m (1:00.31) and 200m backstroke (2:06.62). Her 100m backstroke record was broken by HE Chihong of the People's Republic of China in 1994 (1:00.16). In Barcelona, she became the youngest swimmer in history to win three individual gold medals. She breezed to victories in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke and the 400m individual medley. She set Olympic records in the 100m backstroke (1:00.68) and 200m backstroke (2:07.06), which still stands.
She is the Michael Jordan of swimming in Hungary. A biography of her life has become a bestseller. She endorses a vitamin drink on six television stations and is said to be recognizable to 98 percent of her countrymen. They refer to EGERSZEGI as "Krisztina Kiralyno," which means Queen Krisztina.
EGERSZEGI has once again emerged at the pinnacle of Olympic history. Tonight she became the first swimmer in Olympic history to win three gold medals in the same event. EGERSZEGI took control of the 200m backstroke from the beginning and never looked back with a time of 2:07.83. Her nearest competitor was Whitney HEDGEPETH (USA) at 2:11.98.
With her victory she becomes the first swimmer, male or female, to win five individual gold medals. She also became the first women to win six individual medals, and is second all-time in medals won with seven. She joins an elite group of Matt BIONDI, Tom JAGER, Charles DANIELS, all of the United States and Dawn FRASER (AUS) as the only swimmers to win three gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games. FRASER made the trip to Atlanta but could not attend the finals on Thursday night. She experienced heart pains earlier in the week and watched EGERSZEGI's performance on television. At the post-awards ceremony press conference, EGERSZEKI was asked if she had anything to say to FRASER: "I respect Dawn FRASER and would like to send my regards."
Her Olympic career has spanned 12 years, but this will be the final time we will see her perform in Olympic competition. "I'm going to keep swimming for at least another year," stated EGERSZEGI. "It would not be fair to my body or my fans to quit immediately. I will not be in Sydney."
She will leave Atlanta as one of the greatest individual performers of all time. Her legacy will be the standard by which backstrokers will be compared. She is truly "Kritsztina Kiralyno."
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by David Blanchard
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| An estimated 5.3 million visted Centennial Olympic Park between opening day - 13 July - and closing day - 4 August, making the park the most single most visited Olympic site during the Games. |