Brett Petersen (born 9 September 1976) is a South African former swimmer, who specialised in breaststroke events. He won a gold medal in the 100 m breaststroke at the

1999 All-Africa Games The 7th All-Africa Games (; ), also known as Johannesburg 1999 (), was a sport event held from 10 to 19 September 1999, in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. 53 countries participated in eighteen sports. Netball was included as a demonstrati ...

, and later became a top 8 finalist in the same distance at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. While studying in the United States, Petersen was part of the 200-yard medley relay team that claimed a top finish at the 1998

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

Swimming Championships. Petersen also played for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

swimming and diving team under head coach Neil Harper, and later became a graduate of management information systems at the

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. Petersen established his swimming history at the

1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eighth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 1999 at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia, from 22–29 August. Only two swimmers per country could compet ...

in Sydney, where he placed fourth in the 100 m breaststroke, just a small fraction outside the podium. On that same year, Petersen powered home with a gold medal for South Africa in the 100 m breaststroke (1:02.63) at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. At the

in Sydney, Petersen competed only in two swimming events. He established a South African record and achieved a

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

A-standard of 1:01.62 from the Olympic trials in

. In the 100 m breaststroke, Petersen finished seventh in a time of 1:01.63, holding off Switzerland's

Remo Lütolf Remo Lütolf (born 18 February 1980) is a Swiss breaststroke swimmer who won four medals at European and World championships in 1999, 2000 and 2003. He also competed in three events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympic ...

by a quarter of a second (0.25). Petersen also teamed up with

Simon Thirsk Simon Thirsk (born 15 May 1977 in Cape Town) is a retired South African swimmer, who specialised in backstroke events. Career and awards Thirsk won a gold medal in the 100 m backstroke at the 1999 Summer Universiade, and later represented Sout ...

Nicholas Folker Nicholas Folker (born October 26, 1976) is a South African former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He captured two medals at the 1999 All-Africa Games, and later represented South Africa at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Folker wa ...

, and

Theo Verster Theophilus "Theo" Verster (born 14 January 1975) is a South African former swimmer, who specialised in butterfly and in individual medley events. He won three medals at the 1999 All-Africa Games, and later represented South Africa at the 2000 S ...

in the 4 × 100 m medley relay. Swimming a breaststroke leg in heat two, Petersen recorded a split of 1:02.51, but the South Africans finished the race in fourth place and thirteenth overall with a final time of 3:42.44. At the

2001 Goodwill Games The 2001 Goodwill Games was the fifth and final edition of the international multi-sport event. The competition was held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, from 29 August to 9 September 2001. A total around 1300 athletes took part in 14 sporti ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Petersen fought off a challenge from Australia's

Simon Cowley Simon Cowley (born 4 October 1980) is a former Australian breaststroke swimmer. In March 2008, he was assaulted by Nick D'Arcy at a pub in Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South ...

to pick up a silver medal in the 50 m breaststroke (28.72). The following year, at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, Petersen failed to receive a single medal in any of his individual events, finishing fourth in the 50 m breaststroke (28.64) and fifth in the 100 m breaststroke (1:02.14).

References

External links

Player Bio – Florida State Seminoles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Brett 1976 births Living people Olympic swimmers for South Africa Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games swimmers for South Africa South African male breaststroke swimmers Sportspeople from East London, South Africa Florida State Seminoles men's swimmers South African expatriate swimmers in the United States Florida State University alumni African Games gold medalists for South Africa Goodwill Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1999 All-Africa Games Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games 20th-century South African people 21st-century South African people African Games gold medalists in swimming