Aussie Legends Lead Performances That Have Stood Test of Time

Australian Legends Lead ‘Old-School’ Performances That Have Stood Test of Time (Men’s Edition)

Earlier this week, Swimming World ran the primary section in a two-part sequence that highlights performances which have stood the check of time. In the preliminary characteristic, we profiled the feminine athletes who nonetheless rank within the top-25 all-time in an occasion after 20 years. Several notable names dotted the checklist, together with American Janet Evans and Dutchwoman Inge de Bruijn.

Now, it’s time to acknowledge the boys’s swimmers who personal top-25 rankings in an occasion after 20 years, and there may be loads of Australian illustration within the freestyle occasions. Unlike the ladies, who had been represented throughout a number of strokes, the boys solely had one non-freestyle occasion make the minimize. As was the case with the ladies’s version, qualification for this checklist required the efficiency was 20 years previous.

Enjoy!

Ian Thorpe: 200 Freestyle – 1:44.06 (2001)

The 2001 version of the World Championships was a showcase for Australia’s Ian Thorpe, who dazzled with a number of world information. One of these requirements was a 1:44.06 outing within the 200 freestyle, which was the world file for almost six years. Thorpe’s time was revolutionary and enabled athletes to see what was attainable over 4 laps of freestyle. It nonetheless ranks the Hall of Famer seventh all-time within the occasion.

Pieter van den Hoogenband: 200 Freestyle – 1:44.89 (2002)

Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband earned Olympic medals throughout his profession from the 50 freestyle by the 200 freestyle, proof of his versatility. At the 2002 European Championships, “Hoogie” cracked the 1:45 barrier within the 200 freestyle for the primary time, an effort that slots him twenty fifth all-time. He was as soon as the world-record holder within the occasion and was topped Olympic champion in 2000.

Ian Thorpe: 400 Freestyle – 3:40.08 (2002)

Australian legend Ian Thorpe makes his second look on this checklist for the three:40.08 he produced on the 2002 Commonwealth Games. That swim served because the world file till 2009, when Germany’s Paul Biedermann raced .01 sooner on the 2009 World Champs, the place tremendous fits dominated. Thorpe’s time, as a testomony to its energy, nonetheless ranks him No. 3 within the historical past of the 400 freestyle.

Grant Hackett: 400 Freestyle – 3:42.51 (2001)

The 400 freestyle marks the primary time we see the identify of Grant Hackett on this characteristic, but it surely is not going to be the final. Although finest identified for his prowess within the longer freestyle occasions, Hackett was a unprecedented 400 freestyler. His finest time of three:42.51 was good for the silver medal (behind Ian Thorpe) on the 2001 World Championships and positions the Aussie at No. 13 within the all-time rankings.

Grant Hackett: 800 Freestyle – 7:38.65 (2005)

The 2005 World Championships in Montreal noticed Grant Hackett seize gold medals within the 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, together with a silver medal within the 200 free. In the 800 freestyle, Hackett worn out Ian Thorpe’s world file with a clocking of seven:38.65. Despite the gap excellence we now have seen lately, that point from the Australian ranks him ninth all-time within the occasion.

Ian Thorpe: 800 Freestyle – 7:39.16 (2001)

Yet one other exhibiting for Ian Thorpe, and in an occasion that was simply the third-best of his program. At the 2001 World Champs in Fukuoka, Thorpe rocketed to the gold medal with a world-record time of seven:39.16. The swim marked the primary time an athlete had lined the occasion in beneath 7:40, and it nonetheless locations Thorpe at No. 12 in historical past.

Grant Hackett: 1500 Freestyle – 14:34.56 (2001)

Make it three occasions on this checklist for Aussie Grant Hackett, who held the world file within the 1500 freestyle for a decade. Hackett blasted a time of 14:34.56 on the World Championships in Fukuoka, and that mark held up as the worldwide normal till 2011, when China’s Sun Yang minimize .42 off the file. In the all-time rankings, Hackett nonetheless sits within the seventh place.

Kieren Perkins: 1500 Freestyle – 14:41.66 (1994)

Australian distance swimming has lengthy featured greats within the sport, and the truth that Kieren Perkins makes an look on this characteristic particulars his legendary standing. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, Perkins delivered a world file of 14:41.66 within the 1500 freestyle, a normal that lasted till countryman Grant Hackett broke it in 2001. Perkins’ 1500 freestyle time stays venerable, rating him twenty second all-time.

Larsen Jensen: 1500 Freestyle – 14:45.29 (2004)

When Larsen Jensen set an American file of 14:45.29 within the 1500 freestyle on the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, it enabled him to earn the silver medal within the occasion behind Australian Grant Hackett. Jensen offered a lift to the American distance scene, which is now carried by Bobby Finke. Jensen’s time, almost 21 years after its manufacturing, locations him twenty fifth all-time.

Ian Crocker: 100 Butterfly – 50.40 (2005)

Coming off a silver medal within the 100 butterfly on the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Ian Crocker popped a spectacular efficiency within the occasion on the 2005 World Championships in Montreal. Behind a mark of fifty.40, Crocker established a world file that lasted till 2009, and remained the textile normal till the 2016 Olympics. Crocker’s effort continues to rank him No. 11 in occasion historical past.