Brendan Joseph Hansen (born August 15, 1981) is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...

events. Hansen is a six-time Olympic medalist, and is also a former world record-holder in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events (long course). He won twenty-five medals in major international competitions, eighteen gold, four silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, the

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

, and the Pan Pacific Championships. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team and won the bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke and a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Early life and education

Hansen was born and grew up in Havertown, a suburb of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He attended Haverford Senior High School. He swam for several clubs, including Karakung Swim Club and Suburban Seahawks Club. Whilst at Karakung Swin Club in Havertown, Brendan competed and learned from Christopher Lesovitz and Timothy Galvin. While attending the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, Hansen swam for coach Eddie Reese's Texas Longhorns swimming and diving team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2001 to 2005 and Associate Coach Kris Kubik. As a Longhorn swimmer, he never lost a breaststroke event. He was a sixteen-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and won fourteen NCAA national championships. He graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

in 2005.

Swimming career

2001–2003

Hansen's main stroke is breaststroke. He is well known for his unique style of breaststroke, which incorporates a kick that is much narrower than most other swimmers, including the biggest rival of his early international career,

Kosuke Kitajima is a Japanese retired breaststroke swimmer. He won gold medals at the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the 2008 Summer Olympics – becoming the first and only swimmer to sweep the breaststroke events at ...

. At the

2001 World Aquatics Championships The 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001. The opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the swimming and synchronised swimming events, were ...

in Fukuoka, Japan, Hansen won the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:10.69, a championship record. At the

2003 World Aquatics Championships The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming. ...

in Barcelona, Spain, Hansen won gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay, silver in the 100-meter breaststroke, and bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke. In his first event, the 100-meter breaststroke, Hansen finished second to Kosuke Kitajima with a time of 1:00.21. In his second event, the 200-meter breaststroke, Hansen finished in third place with a time of 2:11.11. In the 4×100-meter medley relay, Hansen swam his leg with a time of 59.61 seconds, and the American squad finished first with a world record time of 3:31.54.

2004 Olympics

Despite setting the world record in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke at the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials, Hansen did not manage to win a gold medal in either event at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, as he settled for silver in the 100, and a bronze in the 200. He would win a gold for his role in the world-record-setting 4 × 100 medley relay. There was controversy over Kosuke Kitajima's win in the 100-meter breaststroke. The U.S. team accused Kitajima of using an illegal dolphin kick. However, Olympic officials declined to issue any penalty.

Grant Hackett Grant George Hackett Order of Australia, OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle swimming, freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in ...

said during London 2012 Australian television commentary that Hansen used a recording of Kitajima's roar of triumph after winning this race as his alarm clock for the next four years.

2005 World Championships

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Hansen won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke, 200-meter breaststroke, and 4×100-meter medley relay. In his first event, the 100-meter breaststroke, Hansen won with a time of 59.37 seconds, a championship record. In his second event, the 200-meter breaststroke, Hansen won with a time of 2:09.85. In the 4×100-meter medley relay, Hansen swam his leg with a time of 59.33, and the U.S. squad finished first with a time of 3:31.85.

2006

At the 2006 ConocoPhillips National Championships, Hansen lowered both his world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke to 59.13 seconds in the 100-meter and 2:08.74 in the 200-meter. At the

2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six List of world records in swimming, worl ...

held in Victoria, Canada, Hansen again lowered his world record time in the 200-meter breaststroke to 2:08.50. It is notable that he was a quarter of a second behind his best time at the 150-meter mark, but he came back 0.60 of a second faster with a 33.38.

2007 World Championships

At the

2007 World Aquatics Championships The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic C ...

in Melbourne, Australia, Hansen won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and silver in the 50-meter breaststroke. Hansen also was entered in the 200-meter breaststroke but did not start. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Hansen won with a time of 59.80 seconds, 0.16 faster than second-place finisher Kosuke Kitajima. This victory made him the first and so far only four-time breaststroke world champion (long course). In the 50-meter breaststroke, Hansen place second with a time of 27.69 seconds, just 0.03 slower than first-place finisher Oleh Lisohor.

2008 Olympics

Hansen swam the 100-meter breaststroke at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, his only individual event, finishing in fourth place, but earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay. He lost the medal while on a flight home from a party in his hometown near Philadelphia to Austin; it was returned to him the following day.

2011 Nationals

Hansen prepared for a comeback at the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning the 100-meter breaststroke and 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Nationals with times of 1:00.08 and 2:10.59 respectively.

2012 Olympics

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying meet for the U.S. Olympic Team, Hansen won the 100-meter breaststroke final, qualifying him to swim in that event and the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He also competed in the 200-meter breaststroke and finished fourth. At the

in London, Hansen finished third in 100-meter breaststroke for a bronze medal, and won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay. At the conclusion of the games, Hansen decided that the 2012 Olympics would be his final meet, retiring from the sport of swimming.

Personal best times

Hansen is a former world record holder in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke (long course), as well as the 4×100-meter medley relay (long and short course). His personal best times are:

Long Course

* 50 m Breast: 27.51 (March 27, 2007) * 100 m Breast: 59.13 (August 1, 2006) * 200 m Breast: 2:08.50 (August 21, 2006)

Short Course

* 50 m Breast: 26.86 (October 11, 2004) * 100 m Breast: 57.47 (December 17, 2011) * 200 m Breast: 2:03.62 (December 16, 2011)

Post-retirement

Hansen continues to reside in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Brendan 1981 births Living people American male breaststroke swimmers World record setters in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Haverford Township, Pennsylvania Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimming commentators Texas Longhorns men's swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers from Pennsylvania 21st-century American sportsmen