Matthew BIONDI
United States of America USA
Swimming
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Olympic Medals8 G2 S1 B
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Games participations3
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First Olympic GamesLos Angeles 1984
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Year of Birth1965
Biography
Matthew BIONDI
Exept for Matthew Biondi, the only other swimmers to have won seven golds at the Olympic Games are Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps.
False star
Biondi made an inauspicious start as a swimmer. In his first race, having taken up the sport aged five, he made two false starts and then lost his swimsuit on the dive. Far from daunted, he went on to become one of the all-time greats, winning 11 career Olympic medals.
Longer fingernails
In the 100m butterfly at the Seoul Olympic Games, Biondi was the favourite. However, he had to settle for second when he was beaten by just 0.01 seconds, by Anthony Nesty of Surinam. This led Biondi to reflect, "One one-hundredth of a second - what if I had grown my fingernails longer?"
Seoul success
Biondi successfully channelled his disappointment. He entered five more events, winning gold in all of them and setting world records in four. He took part in all three US relay victories and his total of seven swimming medals at a single Games has been beaten only by Michael Phelps.
Bigger and better
What set Biondi apart from other swimmers was his competitive edge. The bigger the event, the better he swam, and his best was always reserved for Olympic finals. In the 50m freestyle in Seoul, he won by defeating teammate Tom Jager for the first time in two years.
GO OLYMPIC. GET ALL THIS.
Olympic Results
More resultsResults | Event | Sport | |
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Barcelona 1992 |
#5
100 metres Freestyle
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100 metres Freestyle | Swimming |
G
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay
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4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay | Swimming | |
G
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay
|
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay | Swimming | |
S
50 metres Freestyle
|
50 metres Freestyle | Swimming |
Results | Event | Sport | |
---|---|---|---|
Seoul 1988 |
S
100 metres Butterfly
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100 metres Butterfly | Swimming |
G
100 metres Freestyle
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100 metres Freestyle | Swimming | |
B
200 metres Freestyle
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200 metres Freestyle | Swimming | |
G
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay
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4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay | Swimming | |
G
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay
|
4 x 100 metres Medley Relay | Swimming | |
G
4 x 200 metres Freestyle Relay
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4 x 200 metres Freestyle Relay | Swimming | |
G
50 metres Freestyle
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50 metres Freestyle | Swimming |
Results | Event | Sport | |
---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles 1984 |
G
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay
|
4 x 100 metres Freestyle Relay | Swimming |
Featured athletes
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