(21 July 1996; Day 02)
History was made on Monday night at the swimming finals of the 1996 Olympic Games when two athletes accomplished a feat never before achieved in their respective countries: having a gold medal placed around their necks while their nation's national anthem was played with the entire world watching.
Belgium's Fred DEBURGHGRAEVE had the of that moment by winning the finals of the men's 100m breaststroke. During the morning session, DEBURGHGRAEVE set a world record with a time of 1:00.60. The world waited in anticipation to see first of all if he could better his time, but secondly, whether he would have burned himself out and not be able to win the gold. He did not disappoint. He missed breaking the world record by .05 seconds and defeated Jerry LINN (USA) by .12 seconds to win his country's first gold medal in swimming. "I'm very happy to win the gold medal for me, my folks and my country. I did it for all of the friends who have supported me," stated DEBURGHGRAEVE.
DEBURGHGRAEVE's trip to the top podium has been very different from the majority of Olympic swimmers. In a sport in which athletes train in world-class pools with personal coaches on a daily basis, DEBURGHGRAEVE trains alone 100 kilometers from his coach Ronald GAASTRA, who communicates workouts by fax machine. DEBURGHGRAEVE then trains alone in a small pool from 5:30-7:30, a situation he enjoys. "I've worked since 1986 without a coach next to the pool," he said. "If I had a coach everyday, I'd have a problem. I'm used to being by myself. He calls me once a day and comes by twice a month. At big meets, he's always with me."
In the women's 400m individual medley, Ireland's Michelle SMITH (IRL) stunned the world by defeating the defending 1992 Olympic champion Krisztina EGERSZEGI (HUN) by nearly 3 full seconds. Smith won the gold medal with a national record of 4:39.18. She also made Irish history by becoming the first female swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal.
" I knew that my fly was going to be faster and that she'd (EGERSZEGI) try to pull away on the backstroke," said SMITH. "I just had to keep my concentration and not get upset if she was ahead of me on the backstroke. I was expecting to be behind. Once I started the freestyle, and saw EGERSZEGI going by me, I knew she wasn't going to get by me. As soon as I passed, I knew I had a chance."
Smith's quest for gold is not over. She is scheduled to compete in three more Olympic events: the 100m and 200m butterfly and the 200 individual medley.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by David Blanchard.
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| The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July). |