Pieter van den Hoogenband

Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband is a retired Dutch competitive swimmer, born March 14, 1978, in Maastricht, who specialized in freestyle events. A triple Olympic champion and former world record holder, he won three Olympic gold medals across the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games, setting world records in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle, and took his 100 meter freestyle gold in 2000 by defeating his childhood idol Alexander Popov, then successfully defended that title in 2004. He competed in four consecutive Olympic Games, becoming the first swimmer to reach the 100 meter freestyle final four times, was named World Swimmer of the Year in 2000 and European Swimmer of the Year multiple times between 1999 and 2004, and won further medals at World and European Championships over a career spanning 1996 to 2008.