Brendan Hansen

American breaststroke swimmer and six-time Olympic medalist who set world records in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke and helped the U.S. medley relay win gold at three Olympic Games.

Born in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, on 15 August 1981, Brendan Joseph Hansen swam at the University of Texas, where he remained undefeated in individual breaststroke events across four years and won 13 NCAA titles. After narrowly missing the 2000 Olympic team with two third-place finishes at Trials, he channelled the disappointment into a breakthrough at the 2004 Trials, breaking the 100m and 200m breaststroke world records in the same meet. Despite entering the Athens 2004 Olympics as the fastest man in the world in both events, Hansen settled for silver in the 100m breaststroke and bronze in the 200m, both times finishing behind Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, while anchoring the U.S. medley relay to gold. He rewrote his own world records again in 2006, lowering both the 100m and 200m marks three times within a 20-day span, and won further individual world titles in 2005 and 2007. Hansen won a second Olympic medley relay gold at Beijing 2008 and returned for a third Olympics at London 2012, adding a bronze in the 100m breaststroke and a third medley relay gold. He finished his career with six Olympic medals (three gold, one silver, two bronze) and 25 medals across major international competitions. Hansen was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2021 and has remained active in the sport through work with USA Swimming.

Powerful breaststroke with a distinctive narrow kick

One of the most successful American breaststrokers of the 2000s