Contents
Inge de Bruijn
Winning four Olympic swimming titles in sprint freestyle and butterfly.
Three Sydney golds · World championships
- Born
- 24 August 1973
- Birthplace
- Barendrecht, Netherlands
More people
Inge de Bruijn
Dutch swimmer whose late-career transformation produced one of the standout performances of the Sydney Olympics.
Early life
Early sport
Tried several sports before concentrating on swimming.
Swimming family
Her brother Matthijs also became an Olympic athlete, in water polo.
Career
- 1990s
International beginnings
Competed at world and European championships and made her Olympic debut in 1992.
- 1999–2004
Peak competition
Returned to the top of sprint swimming, setting records and winning major titles.
- 2007
Retirement
Announced the end of her competitive swimming career.
Achievements
Three Sydney golds
Won the 50-metre freestyle, 100-metre freestyle and 100-metre butterfly.
World championships
Won three individual world titles in Fukuoka.
Olympic defence
Retained her Olympic 50-metre freestyle title in Athens.
Beyond swimming
Training abroad
Worked with coach Paul Bergen in the United States during her career.
Media work
Appeared in Dutch television and advertising after swimming.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Inge_de_Bruijn_en_Jacco_Verhaeren_1.jpg : Miho NL derivative work: Materialscientist. CC BY 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
