James Magnussen
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James Magnussen (born 11 April 1991) is a retired Australian
swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
and Olympic medallist. He was the 2011 and 2013 100-metre freestyle world champion, and holds the record for the fifth fastest swim in history in the 100-metre freestyle, with a time of 47.10, which until 2016 also stood as the fastest swim in textile swimwear material. He has won a total of 16 medals in major international competition, eight gold, five silver and three bronze, spanning the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
,
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
,
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
, and the Pan Pacific Championships. He retired on 5 June 2019.


Career


2010

At the 2010 Australian Swimming Championships, Magnussen came third in the 100-metre freestyle, with a time of 49.43, thus qualifying for the national team. Magnussen earned a silver medal, with Eamon Sullivan,
Kyle Richardson Kyle Davis Richardson (born March 2, 1973) is a former National Football League (NFL) punter. He played college football at Arkansas State University and went on to have a ten-year professional career. He played for the Rhein Fire in NFL Eur ...
, and Cameron Prosser in a time of 3:14.30, finishing behind the United States. Swimming the anchor leg, he had a split of 48.25. In the 100-metre freestyle, Magnussen finished 10th overall with a time of 48.94. Shortly after the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Magnussen competed at the
2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...
in Delhi. In the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, Magnussen won a gold medal with Kyle Richardson, Eamon Sullivan, and Tommaso D'Orsogna in a time of 3:13.92. At year's end, Magnussen competed at the
2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 15–19 December 2010. This swimming-only championships took place in the Dubai Sports Complex; all events were swum in a 25-meter ( short-course) ...
in Dubai, and was part of the Australian team that finished 5th in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay.


2011 World Championships

At the 2011 Australian Swimming Championships, Magnussen qualified for the national team by winning the 100-metre freestyle in a time of 48.29. At the
2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming ...
, Magnussen won a total of three medals, two golds and one silver. In his first event, the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, Magnussen won gold with Matthew Targett, Matthew Abood, and Eamon Sullivan in a time of 3:11.00. As the lead-off swimmer, he had a time of 47.49. Magnussen's lead-off time eclipsed Pieter van den Hoogenband's (unofficial) pre-polyurethane suit record of 47.84, and, at the time, was the fastest swim ever over that distance by a swimmer not wearing the now-banned suit. Four days later, Magnussen became the first Australian man to win the 100-metre freestyle at a World Championships, with a time of 47.63 seconds. At the first 50 in the 100-metre freestyle, Magnussen was in fifth place in 22.94, but came back fastest in 24.69 for the win. After the race, Magnussen said, "When I get back to Australia, I will be relaxing with my friends, and it will sound amazing to be called a world champion. It has been six weeks since I have gotten a good night's sleep. No Australian has won this race at the world championships before, so it is good to be in the same club as the legends of this sport." On the final night of competition, Magnussen won a silver medal in the 4x100-metre medley relay with, Hayden Stoeckel,
Brenton Rickard Brenton Scott Rickard (born 19 October 1983) is a retired breaststroke swimmer from Australia. He emerged at the international level in 2006, swimming at the Commonwealth games. He has captured multiple Olympic and World Championship medals, a ...
, and Geoff Huegill in a time of 3:32.26. Swimming the freestyle leg, Magnussen had a split of 47.00, by far the fastest in the field and was almost enough to overtake the gold winning Americans for 1st place.


2012 Australian Swimming Championships

At the 2012 Australian Swimming Championships, which also served as Australia's Olympic trials, Magnussen qualified for 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 ...
, by becoming the national champion in the 50 and 100-metre freestyle. In his first event, the 100-metre freestyle, Magnussen recorded a time of 47.10 to win by over half a second. His 100-metre freestyle time was the 4th fastest swim in the history of the event, and also lowered his own unofficial textile record of 47.49. In the 100-metre freestyle final, Magnussen had a drastic change of tactics compared to his swims in Shanghai. At the first 50, Magnussen had a swift split of 22.68, and came back in 24.42. In the 100-metre freestyle final in Shanghai, he went out in 22.94 and came back in 24.69. Thus, Magnussen was more aggressive in the first 50-metres. Magnussen has stated he does plan on targeting César Cielo's
world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...
of 46.91 in the 100-metre freestyle. After topping the heats (22.19) and semifinals (21.87) in the 50-metre freestyle, Magnussen won the final in a time of 21.52, the fastest any Australian has ever been in textile swimwear in that event. Prior to this competition, Magnussen's personal best in the 50-metre freestyle was 22.41.


2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Magnussen won two medals, one silver and one bronze. In his first event, the 4×100-metre freestyle, Magnussen and his three other relay team members came fourth behind France, United States and Russia, despite being the favourites. As the lead-off leg, Magnussen recorded a time of 48.03, much slower than the 47.49 he led off in Shanghai. In the 100-metre freestyle final, Magnussen came in second by one-hundredth of a second to American swimmer Nathan Adrian 47.53 to 47.52, winning the silver medal. Overall, he said in an interview after his swim he swam his best but unfortunately it wasn't enough. In the 50-metre freestyle, Magnussen failed to advance to the final, finishing with a time of 22.00 in the semifinals. Issues pertaining to Magnussen's behaviour before and during the 2012 London Summer Olympics became apparent, due to reports that his Australian Swim Team teammates ultimately cheered upon his defeat in the 100-metre freestyle final. Magnussen was accused of having a "big head" during the games, with claims that "he did not feel the need to attend team meetings and that he did not want to sit poolside to watch other Australian swimmers compete". There were also some complaints about Magnussen and his 100 metre relay teammates, dubbed the Weapons of Mass Destruction, who were accused of harassing other Australian swimmers who in return described the quartet as "out of control".


2013 World Championships & FINA World Cup

In his first event at the
2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships (, ) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.Cameron McEvoy Cameron McEvoy (born 13 May 1994) is an Australian competitive swimmer who represented his country at the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the men's 50m freestyle, and also the first Australian m ...
, Tommaso D'Orsogna, and James Roberts in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, with the team finishing fourth place, repeating their result from the 2012 Olympics. Swimming the lead-off, Magnussen recorded a split of 48.00, finishing behind American Nathan Adrian for the second-best opening leg. Going into the relay, Magnussen held the top 100-metre freestyle time of 2013 with a 47.53 but like 2012, was not able to replicate his in-season time. In the 100-metre freestyle, Magnussen successfully defended his title, winning with a time of 47.71. He also competed in the 50 m freestyle event, but was unable to make the final, finishing ninth in the semifinals. He finished off the competition by anchoring Australia's 4x100-metre medley relay, with them going on to win the silver medal, only .09 behind the winners. Only four days after World Championships, Magnussen was back in the pool for the first stop on the short course Fina World Cup. Here he placed first in the 100 m freestyle event, finishing in a new time of 45.60 and .04 ahead of Vladimir Morozov.


2014

In January, Magnussen opened the season in very sharp form, clocking 47.59 at the Perth Aquatic Super Series, followed by a 21.88 in the 50 m freestyle. At the 2014 Australian Championships, Magnussen was favorite to win after posting 6 times under 48 seconds. In the final Magnussen swam a time of 47.92, but was beaten by Cameron McEvoy who won in 47.65. However, he did qualify for the Commonwealth Games. He blamed his loss on chasing the world record instead of sticking to his race plan. The Australian team swept the medal table in the 100 metre freestyle at the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, with Magnussen winning gold. He also won two medals for relay events and bronze in the 50 metre freestyle. A lower back injury disrupted his 2014 season, and he also had a shoulder injury which required surgery in 2015.


2016 Summer Olympics

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Magnussen won a bronze medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay along with his team members behind United States and France.


2018

In 2018, Magnussen was part of the Australian team that won gold in the men's 4 x 100 m freestyle relay at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, held in the Gold Coast.


2024

In February 2024, Magnussen announced that he would be coming out of retirement to take part in the Enhanced Games. Magnussen will be paid $1 million if he breaks the men’s 50m freestyle record, but any record will not be official due to the lack of drug testing. However, in May 2025, Enhanced Games announced that Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev had unofficially broken the long course 50 metres freestyle world record at an February 2025 private event, beating Magnussen to the record, and winning the $1 million prize. He reportedly swam 20.89 seconds, 0.02 seconds faster than the current record by César Cielo.


Personal bests


Television

In 2020, it was announced Magnussen would be participating the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
's reality program '' SAS Australia''.(2 October 2020
Media Release: SAS Australia's full line up and air date revealed
''TV Blackbox''. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
In 2023, it was announced Magnussen would be participating the twentieth series of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
''. He was paired with Natalie Lowe.


See also

*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming. Men's events 50 metre freestyle 100 metre freestyle 200 metre freestyle 400 metre freestyle 800 metre freestyle 1500 metre freestyle 100 metre backstroke 200 m ...
* List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)


References


External links

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnussen, James 1991 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Australian male freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming People from the Mid North Coast Sportsmen from New South Wales Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games People from Port Macquarie 21st-century Australian sportsmen Enhanced Games