Courtesy: Corey He
And here we have it: Part III of this series.
Brooke Bennett (United States)
Bennett first burst onto the scene in 1994, earning a bronze medal in the 800m freestyle at the 1994 World Championships. In 1995, she won gold medals in the 400m and 1500m freestyle at both the Pan American and Pan Pacific Games.
At the 1996 Olympics, Bennett defeated Janet Evans and the rest of the field to win her first Olympic gold in the 800m freestyle in what would be Evans’ final race — a true passing-of-the-torch moment.
After Atlanta, Bennett reached the peak of her career. She won gold medals in the 400m and 1500m freestyle at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships; two years later, she won another two gold medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle at the 1999 Pan Pacs. In 1998, she won World gold in the 800m freestyle and a silver in the 400m.
The 2000 Sydney Olympics featured Bennett’s greatest achievements. In the 400m freestyle, she held off a strong field to win Olympic gold in 4:05.80, the fastest time in the world since Evans’ world record. In defending her 800m freestyle Olympic title, Bennett won convincingly, breaking Evans’ Olympic record from Seoul 1988 — cementing her place as one of America’s greatest distance swimmers.
Tamas Darnyi (Hungary)
Darnyi was one of the greatest individual medley swimmers of all time; he was unbeaten in the IMs between 1985 and his retirement in 1993. A teen prodigy, he was actually blind in one eye — the result of a snowball fight — but this did little to stop him.
Darnyi likely would have challenged for a top spot at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics if not for the boycott, but he established his dominance from that point onwards. He swept the individual medley events at the 1986 World Championships and both the 1985 and 1987 European Championships. By the time the 1988 Seoul Olympics came around, he was the world record holder in both events.
In Seoul, Darnyi’s dominance was on full display. He shattered both of his own world records en route to double gold, putting body lengths between himself and his nearest competitors. After Seoul, he continued his winning streak, winning three golds (200m IM, 400m IM, 200m butterfly) at the 1989 European Championships and two more golds at the 1991 World Championships in the individual medleys — along with a world bronze in the 200m butterfly.
After becoming the first man to break the two-minute barrier in the 200m IM, Darnyi was ready for his Olympic title defense. He successfully did so against stiff competition, becoming one of three swimmers in history to repeat in both individual medley events at the Olympics. He won another gold in the 400m IM at the 1993 European Championships before ending his prolific career.
Inge de Bruijn (Netherlands)
De Bruijn is one of the most successful female swimmers of all time and the fourth most-decorated Dutch Olympian in history. At the height of her career, she became known as “Invincible Inky” and was named “Female Swimmer of the Year” for two consecutive years.
De Bruijn made her Olympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, competing in the finals of both the 100m freestyle and 400m freestyle relay. Though she did not compete at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, she won multiple gold medals at the 1999 World and European Championships, setting world records in the process.
Her greatest accomplishments were still to come. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she won three gold medals in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 100m butterfly, breaking her own world records in each event.
Her success continued after Sydney, capturing three gold medals at the 2001 World Championships and two more golds at the 2003 World Championships in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. She became the first woman under 57 seconds in the 100m butterfly and 54 seconds in the 100m freestyle, with her 100m butterfly world record standing for almost a decade.
Just days before her 31st birthday, De Bruijn successfully defended her Olympic title in the 50m freestyle in Athens. She added a silver in the 100m freestyle and two bronze medals in the 100m butterfly and medley relay events. To date, she remains the oldest female swimming Olympic champion in history.
Mike Burton (United States)
When he was younger, Burton was hit by a furniture truck while biking. His injuries rendered him unable to pursue contact sports, so he decided to swim competitively. This would be the dawn of a prolific distance-swimming career.
Burton first asserted himself on the international stage in 1965, winning bronze in the 1500m freestyle at the World University Games. At the same meet in 1967, he captured gold in the 1500m freestyle, along with silver in the 400m freestyle.
Heading into the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Burton was one of the favorites in both the 400m and 1500m distances. He rose to the occasion, winning double Olympic gold — setting two Olympic records in the process — and winning the 1500m by nearly 20 seconds.
After the Olympics, Burton returned to UCLA, where he captured five NCAA titles in the 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle, and 200 butterfly events, leading UCLA to a conference championship in 1970.
As the 1972 Munich Games loomed, Burton faced several setbacks. Diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency, his fitness declined. At the 1972 Olympic Trials, Burton failed to make the team in the 400m freestyle or 200m butterfly, and he nearly missed out on the finals of the 1500m freestyle. Nonetheless, he rallied to earn an Olympic berth in the 1500m.
Burton took this momentum to the Munich Olympics. In a thrilling race, he jumped out to an early lead and fended off challengers, beating the field by over six seconds and defending his 1500m freestyle Olympic title in world-record time.
Gary Hall, Jr. (United States)
Gary Hall, Jr. is one of the greatest sprinters in American history. Hall followed in the footsteps of his father, Gary Hall, Sr., who was a three-time Olympic medalist and former world record holder.
At the 1994 World Championships, Hall finished with silver medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle, second to the legendary Alexander Popov. At the 1996 Olympics, Hall achieved the same result behind Popov in both events, and he won his first two Olympic gold medals anchoring the freestyle and medley relays.
In 1999, Hall’s career seemed to come to an end with a Type I diabetes diagnosis; his doctors told him he would likely never race again. Hall refused to accept this and returned to competition at the 2000 Olympic Trials, setting a new American record of 21.76 in the 50m freestyle.
Hall’s success continued into the Sydney Olympics. Against a field featuring four Olympic champions (including Popov), Hall swam to victory in the 50m freestyle, tying with teammate and training partner Anthony Ervin. He added a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, anchored the medley relay to gold, and helped secure silver in the freestyle relay.
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Hall, at the age of 29 — making him one of the oldest American Olympians ever — returned to defend his 50m title. Despite not being the favorite, he overcame the odds and won gold by one one-hundredth of a second. Later that year, he also won the Humanitarian Award at the 2004 Golden Goggles for his work in advocating for diabetes awareness.
Kieren Perkins (Australia)
Perkins began swimming as part of a treatment program to heal a serious leg injury he sustained when he was younger. This “rehab” transformed him into one of the greatest mid- to long-distance swimmers in history.
Perkins’ first success came at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. The following year, he broke the world record in the 1500m freestyle en route to silver at the 1991 World Championships.
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Perkins won the only gold medal by an Australian swimmer, shattering his own 1500m world record by five seconds. He followed this success with a strong performance at the 1994 World Championships, winning golds in the 400m and 1500m freestyle events — establishing new world records in both.
In 1996, Perkins faced several setbacks, almost failing to make the Australian Olympic team. At Atlanta, he qualified 8th for the 1500m final, just 0.24 seconds away from 9th. Despite this, he rallied from lane 8 in an inspirational Olympic title defense, beating the field by over six seconds.
After Atlanta, Perkins raced in another Olympic final, this time on home soil during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He almost pulled off the three-peat, earning silver behind fellow Australian Grant Hackett.
Olympic Three-Peats (and Four-Peats!)
If you were wondering why I’ve left out quite a few big names, don’t worry: how could I forget names like Krisztina Egerszegi, Dawn Fraser, Katie Ledecky, and Michael Phelps — the only four athletes to have three-peated at the Olympics?
Here’s the statistical rundown…
Egerszegi three-peated in the 200m backstroke (1988, 1992, and 1996). Her dominance is reflected in the fact that her world record in this event stood for nearly 17 years. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, she also added individual golds in the 400m IM and 100m backstroke, winning a total of seven Olympic medals across her career.
Fraser three-peated in the 100m freestyle (1956, 1960, and 1964). She held the world record in this event for over 15 years, becoming the first woman under 1:02, 1:01, 1:00, and 59 seconds. In total, she won eight Olympic medals — four golds and four silvers.
Phelps four-peated in the 200m IM (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016), three-peated in the 100m butterfly (2004, 2008, 2012), repeated in the 200m butterfly (2004 and 2008) before winning a third Olympic title in 2016, and repeated in the 400m IM (2004 and 2008). With 28 total Olympic medals, including 23 gold, his dominance is unparalleled. ESPN ranks Phelps as the top athlete of the 21st century.
Ledecky has three-peated in the 800m freestyle (2012, 2016, 2020) — and this summer, she has a chance to add to her tally in the 800m for a potential four-peat, as well as defend her title in the 1500m freestyle. A highly anticipated race will be the 400m freestyle.
Here’s some perspective: imagine being the undisputed best swimmer in the world across three Olympiads — nearly a whole decade. Your dominance becomes so well-known that your name is synonymous with greatness. You become the “hunted,” chased by up-and-coming talents who dream of dethroning you.
One Final Thought
This concludes this article series on Olympic repeats — for now. By the time the Paris Olympics conclude, there may be more repeats (or even three-peats) to add to this list. Perhaps a Part IV may be warranted…
Onward to Paris!
ABOUT COREY HE
Corey is a current junior at the University of Pennsylvania, studying biology and healthcare management on a pre-medicine track. Originally from New Jersey, he first jumped into the water when he was 4 years old and swam competitively all the way through high school. Prior to college, he swam for Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA. He hopes to pursue a career in sports medicine.
