Matt Biondi facts for kids
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| Nickname(s) | "Matt," "The California Condor" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 8, 1965 Moraga, California, U.S. |
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| Height | 6 ft 7 in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 209 lb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of California, Berkeley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Nort Thornton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Matthew Nicholas Biondi (born October 8, 1965) is a famous American swimmer and water polo player. He is known for winning many medals at the Summer Olympic Games. Matt Biondi earned a total of eleven Olympic medals, including eight gold, two silver, and one bronze.
He also set several world records during his swimming career. He was the fastest in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle events. Matt Biondi is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is also in the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life and Sports
Matt Biondi grew up in Moraga, California. He started swimming and playing water polo when he was young. As he got older, his amazing talent for sprint swimming became clear.
He didn't swim all year round until high school. But by his senior year in 1983, he was the best high school sprinter in America. He set a national record in the 50-yard freestyle.
College and International Swimming
College Years
Matt Biondi went to the University of California, Berkeley on a scholarship. He swam for Coach Nort Thornton and played water polo. In his first year, he helped his water polo team win a national championship.
He also did very well in swimming. He placed high in freestyle events at the NCAA Swimming Championships. He helped his relay teams finish strong.
Success in College Swimming
After the 1984 Olympics, Matt Biondi became a star in college swimming. In 1985, he won the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle races. He set new records for colleges and America in these events. He also helped his relay teams win.
In 1986, he won the 50, 100, and 200-yard freestyle events. He set more new records. He was one of the top scorers at the college championships.
By his final college season in 1987, he won the 50, 100, and 200-yard freestyle events again. He broke his own records in all three. He was the first swimmer to break four individual college and American records in one meet. He was named the NCAA Swimmer of the Year three times.
Matt Biondi was also a great water polo player. His college water polo teams won national championships in 1983, 1984, and 1987.
Setting World Records
Matt Biondi set his first world record in swimming in 1985. He was the first man to swim the 100-meter freestyle in under 49 seconds. By 1988, he held the ten fastest times ever in that event. His world record lasted for almost nine years.
He won 24 U.S. Championships in different freestyle events and the 100 butterfly. He won 11 medals, including six gold, at two World Championships (1986 and 1991). He was named the Swimming World magazine Male Swimmer of the World twice.
In August 1985, he broke the 100-meter freestyle world record twice in one day. He swam 49.24 seconds and then 48.95 seconds. The next day, he set an American record in the 200-meter freestyle.
At the 1985 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, he won gold in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle. He also won three more gold medals with American relay teams. Two of these relay teams set new world records.
In June 1986, he improved his 100-meter freestyle world record to 48.74 seconds.
1986 World Championships
At the 1986 World Aquatics Championships in Madrid, Matt Biondi won seven medals. He earned three gold, one silver, and three bronze medals. This set a record for the most medals at one World Championship meet. He won gold in the 100-meter freestyle. He also won gold in two relay events.
More International Wins
In 1987, Matt Biondi won four gold medals at the 1987 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Australia. He won the 100-meter freestyle and three relay events. He also won a silver and a bronze medal.
Before the 1988 Olympics, he qualified for seven events. He set the world record in the 100-meter freestyle for the fourth time. He also broke his own American record in the 200-meter freestyle.
1988 Seoul Olympics
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Matt Biondi had an amazing performance. He won five gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. He set four world records and one Olympic record.
In the 200-meter freestyle, he won a bronze medal. In the 100-meter butterfly, he won a silver medal by a tiny margin.
Later that day, he helped the 4×200-meter freestyle relay team win gold. They set a world record. Matt Biondi swam the fastest part of the race. This started his streak of five gold medals in five days.
He won his first individual Olympic gold in the 100-meter freestyle. He set a new Olympic record. His teammate Chris Jacobs won silver, making it a one-two finish for the U.S.
Next, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay team won gold with another world record. Matt Biondi swam a very fast final leg.
In the 50-meter freestyle, Matt Biondi won gold and set a world record. His teammate Tom Jager won silver.
The swimming competition ended with the 4×100-meter medley relay. Matt Biondi swam the butterfly part. The American team set another world record and won gold.
Because of his achievements in 1988, Matt Biondi received many awards.
1992 Barcelona Olympics
At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Matt Biondi won two more gold medals in relays. He also won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle. After these Olympics, he decided to retire from swimming.
Personal Life
Matt Biondi graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1988. He studied Political Economy.
He married Kirsten Metzger in 1995. They had three children: Nathaniel (Nate), Lucas, and Makena. Nate swam for the UC Berkeley men's swimming team from 2018 to 2021. Matt and Kirsten divorced in 2014.
Matt Biondi also earned a master's degree in education in 2000. In recent years, he has worked as a school teacher and swimming coach in Hawaii. As of 2012, he teaches math and coaches at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles.
He is also involved in masters swimming, which is for adult swimmers. He started an annual competition called the Matt Biondi Masters Classic.
See also
In Spanish: Matt Biondi para niños
- Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
- List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event
- List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of University of California, Berkeley alumni
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
- World record progression 50 metres freestyle
- World record progression 100 metres freestyle
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
- World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay
