Roland Mark Schoeman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roland Mark Schoeman (born July 3, 1980) is a South African swimmer and a member of the 2004 Olympic Games swimming team for South Africa.
He is currently holder of one world record in swimming, the 50 Meter Butterfly.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Born in Pretoria, Schoeman first ventured seriously into a pool when he was 16, in order to show a girl how interested he was in her. Within a few months he was swimming competitively, beginning a career that would see him attain one gold medal, two silvers and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games and set new South African records in the 100 m Freestyle (48.69s), 50 m Freestyle (22.04s), 100 m Butterfly (52.73s) and 50 m Butterfly (23.65s) events.
His latest achievements have been winning a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in the 4 x 100 m freestyle, a silver medal in the 100 m freestyle event and a bronze in the 50 m freestyle. Schoeman was voted Africa's Male Athlete of the year in 2004.
At the 2005 LC World Championships in Montreal, Canada he won two gold medals [50 m Butterfly (in a world record time of 22.96s) and Freestyle (21.69s the second fastest time in history at the time)]. He also claimed a silver in 100m freestyle.
In December 2005, Schoeman turned down a 40 Million Rand ($5.9 Million) contract to swim for Qatar. He stated reasons of national pride for turning down the offer and that hearing the South African national anthem and sharing the joy of his victories with his fellow South Africans is what made winning Gold special.
On August 12, 2006, Schoeman broke the short course world record for 50 metres freestyle and became the first man to swim the distance under 21 seconds, with a time of 20.98 seconds. Schoeman lowered the previous mark by 0.12 seconds held for the last two years by Frédérick Bousquet of France. Schoeman was swimming in a specially built 25-metre pool at an invitational meeting in a Hamburg tennis stadium.
At the 2007 LC World Championships in Melbourne Australia he successfully defended his 50m butterfly title. He also made the final of the 50m and 100m freestyle and was part of the 4*100m freestyle relay team that finished 4th.
[edit] World records
[edit] Long course (50 m pool)
| Current WR | Event | Record | Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current WR | 50 m Butterfly | 22.96 s | July 25, 2005 | World Championship | Montreal, Canada |
[edit] Short course (25 m pool)
| Current WR | Event | Record | Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m Individual Medley[6] | 52.51 s | January 18, 2005 | World Cup series | Stockholm, Sweden |
[edit] References and notes
- ^ 2004 Olympic Games swimming results. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
- ^ Montreal 2005 Results. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
- ^ 12th FINA World Championships. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
- ^ Swimming Schedule and Results. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
- ^ BBC Sport Commonwealth Games 2002 Statistics. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
- ^ 100 m Individual Medley event is not recognized by FINA.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Frédérick Bousquet |
Men's 50 metres Freestyle World Record Holder (Short Course) August 12, 2006 – November 18, 2007 |
Succeeded by Stefan Nystrand |
Preceded by Thomas Rupprath |
Men's 100 metre individual medley world record holder (short course) January 18, 2005 – January 22, 2005 |
Succeeded by Ryk Neethling |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Incumbent |
World African Swimmer of the Year 2004 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
|||||
