Three-time Olympic gold medalist Brendan Hansen made his post-retirement swimming debut, showing that “retiring from international-level swimming” isn’t necessarily the same as “retiring from swimming”.
Hansen, who’s now the head coach at the Austin Swim Club, raced at a team-hosted Masters meet after registering within the week for US Masters Swimming.
Hansen raced to a 25.18 in the 50 yard breaststroke and a 52.85 in the 100 yard backstroke.
That ranks as the third-fastest 50 yard breaststroke ever done by a Masters swimmer in the 30-34 age group – with the prior to coming at the hands of Matt Grevers (24.35) and Ed Moses (24.84) while they were still training to compete at the elite international level.
Hansen’s career tally includes 10 World Championship gold medals, including a 50-100-200 breaststroke sweep at the 2004 Short Course World Championships, and 6 total Olympic medals.
For a more personal comparison, Hansen split 23.59, albeit on a rolling start, in his final NCAA Championship 200 yard medley relay at the University of Texas in 2003 (the 2004 championships were in short course meters rather than yards).
Check out a video of the swim below, courtesy of @gatswimmer:
25.18 in the 50 Breast by @BrendanHansen! Looks like old dogs can relearn old tricks! pic.twitter.com/lo6jjaPQTu
— Grant (@gatswimmer) March 12, 2016
While he’s definitely known for playing second fiddle to Kitajima, a closer look actually shows what could be argued to be greater dominance overall…just not during Olympic years. At trials in 2004, he broke both of Kitajima’s world records by a lot, but then swam a lot slower at the Olympics (+.95 in the hundred and +1.8 in the 200; he would have run away with both races with his best time). He then held both the world records for 4 years (8 total), never once relinquishing them until Kitajima beat him again in 2008, vs. Kitajima who held them only for a collective 4.5 years.
I think this goes to show the power of perspective, as well as… Read more »
40 year-old Jarrod Marrs went 25.0 at the Rice March Madness meet in Houston.
He also swam the 100 back in 52.8.
2004 NCAAs were SCM not LCM
Yeah, that was a fun day! Brendan and Matthew’s unofficial Grudge Match was a great icing on the cake!
Should have done a 100, he would have hung on for a 54. Or better, make it long course and I bet you he still goes a 28. Short pool was never his forte in the grand scheme of things, even though he was 8-time individual NCAA champ and 2-time world champ. Average pull-outs… the man was just a tough competitor!