International Olympic Committee : News

Krisztina Egerszegi

9/9/1992 12:00:00 AM

Krisztina Egerszegi won three Olympic gold medals in Barcelona, the 100m backstroke, the 200m backstroke and the 400m medley. Affectionately known as ‘the Little Mouse’ in her native Hungary, which was a play on her name and a reflection of her diminutive size, Egerszegi became only the third female swimmer in history to win three individual events at one Olympic Games, Debbie Meyer and Janet Evens, both of the USA, being the other two.

Mighty Mouse

Krisztina was just 14 years old when she won her first gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games in South Korea, making her the youngest-ever female Olympic swimming Champion. She won the 200m backstroke, the same event she would win both in Barcelona four years later and again in Atlanta at the Olympic Games after that. Only Australia’s Dawn Fraser has won three consecutive Olympic titles in the same discipline, swimming the 100m freestyle.

2:06.62

A five-time Olympic Champion in all, Egerszegi also took silver at the Seoul Games in the 100m Backstroke and a bronze medal in Atlanta in the 400m medley. She broke the 100m and 200m backstroke world records during her career. Her 200m record time of 2:06.62 stood for almost 17 years.

Hide & Seek

Egerszegi learnt to swim at the age of four under the tutorship of Hungarian team coach Laszlo Kiss. She arrived in Seoul for her first Olympic Games weighing just 46 kilograms and standing only 166 centimeters tall. Kiss later said he believed Egerszegi was too young to experience any competition nervousness. “It was more a question of playing hide and seek with her in the Olympic Village to keep her from getting bored.” He revealed.

Retirement

Egerszegi retired from swimming after the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta at the age of only 22. Seven-times Hungarian Sports Woman of the Year, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2001.

Chris Boardman

9/9/1992 12:00:00 AM

If there was a moment when the British woke up to Olympic cycling it was probably in the summer of 1992 when Chris Boardman won the first cycling Olympic gold medal for his nation in 72 years.

New technology

Boardman, who beat Germany’s Jens Lehmann into silver, broke the Olympic record for the 4000m individual pursuit in Barcelona, with a time of 4 minutes 27.357 seconds. His shock appearance on the top of the podium was only matched by the futuristic looking bicycle he rode and aerodynamic helmet he wore.

The professor

Nicknamed ‘the Professor’ because of his meticulous attention to detail, Boardman opted not to defend his Olympic title at the Atlanta Games four years later and switched events, winning a bronze in the men’s 52 km time trail instead. Britain’s best cyclist of his generation earned the honour of wearing the ‘Yellow Jersey’ of the Tour de France three times, and set the world one-hour cycling record of 56.375 kilometers.

The Boardman legacy

Boardman retired from professional cycling in 2000 and went on to use his knowledge to help train the next generation of Olympic title winners in the UK. His inspirational gold medal at Barcelona in 1992 almost certainly kick-started the British dominance of the velodrome that followed.

Alexander Popov

9/9/1992 12:00:00 AM

Alexander Popov dominated the men’s sprint freestyle discipline at the Barcelona Games, winning gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle events and silver medals in the 4x100m freestyle relay as well as the 4x100m men’s medley.

50m freestyle

Competing for the ‘Unified Team,’ the name given to teams formerly under the Soviet Union banner, Popov won heat eight of the 50m freestyle event to qualify for the final. He won gold in a time of 21.91 seconds beating the two Americans Matthew Biondi and Thomas Jager into silver and bronze respectively.

100m freestyle

Popov won heat ten of the 100m freestyle and went on to claim the gold medal in the final this time beating Gustavo Borges of Brazil into silver and Stéphane Caron of France into bronze. Popov’s time for the 100m was 49.02. The Russian won a total of four Olympic medals in Barcelona. Two relay silvers also came in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley events.

Identical awards

Four years later at the Atlanta Games in 1996 the Russian claimed exactly the same Olympic medals as he did in Barcelona. Popov retained his 50m and 100m Olympic titles, becoming the first man to do so since the American Johnny Weissmuller back at Amsterdam 1928. As in Barcelona, he also won the same two sprint Relay Silver Medals.

Never say never again

Popov, who held the world record for the long course 50m freestyle of 21.64 seconds for almost 10-years, competed in a total of four Olympiads. He won silver in the 100m freestyle at Sydney in 2000 and at the age of 39 even managed to qualify for the semi-final stage of the same event in Athens four years later.

IOC Member

Popov was given the title of ‘Russian Athlete of the Year 1996’ and was awarded the Russian Medal of Honour for his immense contribution to sport. In December 1999 Alexander Popov was elected a full member of the International Olympic Committee.

Yevgeny Sadovyi

9/9/1992 12:00:00 AM

Yevgeny Sadovyi dominated competition in the men’s pool in Barcelona winning 3 gold medals and setting two world records. The 19-year old Russian, who competed under the flag of the ‘Unified Team,’ the name given to teams from the former Soviet Union, won the 200m freestyle, the 400m freestyle, and a team gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

400m freestyle

Sadovyi set a new world record in the 400m freestyle with a time of 3.45.00. The Russian smashed Australian Kieren Perkins previous record by 1.95seconds. Perkins was in the race and finished in silver medal position. Sadovyi then joined his 4x200m relay team-mates and helped break that world record too, with a time of 7.11.95.

200m freestyle

Sadovyi broke a third Olympic record in the 200m freestyle event. Anders Holmertz of Sweden led the race until the final 50m when Sadovyi came past to take a third Olympic title. The Russian’s time of 1:46.70 was just 0.01 seconds off Giorgio Lamberti’s world record for the distance. Sadovyi had to settle for just a new Olympic record.

Water king

The Spanish press nicknamed Sadovyi ‘The Water King’ after his famous haul of Barcelona medals and the 19-year old returned home amid jubilant scenesto be greeted personally by Russia’s President Boris.’

Early Promise

In 1989 at the World Cup in East Germany, Sadovyi swam the 800m freestyle but famously stopped at 750 meters thinking the race was over. On realizing his mistake he rejoined the race, caught up with his competitors and still managed to finish an incredible second.

Lip Oleniuc

9/8/1992 12:00:00 AM

Elisabeta Lipa-Oleniuc of Romania is the most decorated Olympic rower ever. With five gold medals, two silver, and a bronze over an astonishing 20-year period, the Romanian won an Olympic medal every time she competed. Lipa is one of just four rowers to have taken part in six different Olympiads.

First taste of Olympic glory

Born in the town of Siret, Lipa started rowing at the age of fourteen in 1980 and competed in her first Olympic Games just four years later at Los Angeles where she won her first gold medal in the double scull event.

Champion in the Catalan capital

At Barcelona Lipa won gold, this time in the single sculls event. Having pulled away from the rest of the field early on to establish a comfortable lead, she managed to hold off the challenge of silver medallist Annelies Bredael of Belgium. Lipa covered the 2000m distance in a time of 07:25.54. She also picked up a silver medal in a double scull boat with Veronica Cochela.

Olympic Dominance

The South Korean Seoul Games delivered Lipa Olympic silver and bronze in the double scull and the quadruple scull boats. And there were to be three more Olympic gold medals, at Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. No other rower in Olympic history had won so many honours. Lipa’s final Athens gold medal came at the age of 39.

Women’s 10,000m Final

9/8/1992 12:00:00 AM

Derartu Tulu grew up tending cattle on the dusty plains of Ethiopia but went on to become an Olympic legend. The 21-year old from the village of Bekoji became the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She claimed the Womens 10,000m title in Barcelona with a personal best time of 31:06:02, beating South Africa’s Elana Meyer into second place.

Africa united

In a symbol of hope for a new Africa, Tulu joined hands with the white South African silver medallist for a victory lap. South Africa had been banned from Olympic competition since 1964 because of its black and white separation politics and the image of these two sporting heroes united in a poignant show of post-apartheid harmony captured the imagination of the globe..

Olympic Dominance

Tulu grew in stature, status and confidence after Barcelona. Four years later she became the first woman to retain the 10,000m title, winning the gold medal in Sydney against fiercely talented opposition. It was a breathtaking victory that saw the top six athletes in the race finish inside the Olympic record. Tulu retained her Olympic title in a time of 30:17.49, helped by her incredible penultimate lap of 60.3 seconds.

Three times an Olympic medal-winner

Having given birth to her first child and become an international superstar of women’s distance running Tulu claimed a third Olympic medal at Athens in 2004, again in the 10,000m event and this time a bronze.

Tatiana Gutsu

9/8/1992 12:00:00 AM

Gymnast Tatiana Gutsu, known affectionately in her native Ukraine as ‘The Painted Bird of Odessa,’ claimed the all-round gold medal and a team gold at the Barcelona Games.

Her extraordinary Olympic success was only matched by the way in which she achieved it, with routines as difficult as any ever attempted by a gymnast. Even today, years after Gutsu’s performance in Spain few Olympic gymnasts dare to attempt such difficult beam and floor routines.

Technically before her time

Born in the town of Odessa in southern Ukraine, Gutsu started gymnastics at the age of six and became a member of the Soviet Union national team in 1988. Representing the ‘Unified Team’ at Barcelona, the name chosen at the time for sports teams from the former Soviet Union, the young Ukrainian strung together the most testing of moves under the extreme pressure of Olympic competition and performed them without major error.

The all-round difference

America’s Shannon Miller finished in the all-round silver medal position. Miller was tied at the top of the competition leader board with Gutsu but it was the difficulty of the Ukrainian’s final routines that made the difference and gave Gutsu the gold medal. Gutsu also won silver for her individual uneven bars routine and a bronze medal on the individual floor.

Womens hockey

9/8/1992 12:00:00 AM

Host nation Spain caused one of the biggest upsets at the Barcelona Games in 1992, winning the Womens field hockey gold medal. Having qualified automatically, Spain was drawn against Germany, Canada and Australia in group A. Spain scored five goals in total and finished second in the group behind Germany, its two wins and a draw from three matches good enough to knock reigning Olympic champions Australia out of the tournament and to qualify for the semi-final stage.
Semi-final

Spain met South Korea at the semi-final stage and team coach José Brasa could not have asked for a better performance. The Spanish won a tense match 2-1 in extra time to qualify for the final. .

Final

Spain’s opponents in the final were Germany, the only team it had failed to beat at the group stage . The Spanish scored first at the Estadi Olímpic de Terrassa through María Carmen Barea but the scores were levelled when Germany’s number 9 Franziska Hentschel equalised.

Spanish victory

The host nation secured a memorable 2-1 win three minutes into extra time when Elisabeth Maragall scored the winning goal in front of a jubilant crowd that included her uncle, Pasqual Maragall, President of the Barcelona Olympic Organizing Committee

The winning team

Anna Maiques, Celia Correa, Elisabeth Maragall, Maria Angeles Rodriguez, Maria Carmen Barea, Marivi González, Maider Telleria, Maria Isabel Martinez, Mercedes Coghen, Nagore Gabellanes, Natalia Dorado, Nuria Olivé, Silvia Manrique, Sonia Barrio, Teresa Motos, Virginia Ramirez.

Fermín Cacho

9/7/1992 12:00:00 AM

The 23-year year old Spaniard Fermín Cacho Ruiz stood on the start line for the Olympic 1500m final in Barcelona with nothing to lose. Back in 1992 he was not the World or Olympic Champion and he had not even clocked the fastest time in the world that year. His personal best for the distance was a steady 3.32.03. In fact, Fermín, from the town of Ágreda in the Province of Soria in Northern Spain, was not remotely favoured to claim the Olympic title. Cacho's best result prior to Barcelona had been as runner-up in the Indoor Championships in Seville a year before. This time, however, Fermín would be running in front of his home crowd, not to mention his King, Juan Carlos.

The hard yards

Cacho won his heat and second place in his semi-final earned him a spot in the final. Starting on the inside lane, Cacho broke to the front of the pack in the first few metres. Boxed in, although at the front of the pack, Fermin maintained a steady pace and managed to avoid tripping in the confined space he found.

The final lap

It had been a slow race and that suited Fermin, who seized his moment with just 300m remaining. A space opened up in front of him and he nipped into it, taking the lead as the race entered the final 200m. Once out in front, no one would catch him. The sound of the crowd and thoughts of Olympic glory in his mind, Cacho even pulled away from the rest of the field despite expecting at any moment to see another runner appearing over his shoulder.

Olympic Glory

Arms raised high above his head, Fermin Cacho Ruiz crossed the finish line to claim the Olympic gold medal. The time on the clock was a pedestrian 3:40.12, more than over ten seconds off World Record pace, and the slowest Olympic 1500m final for 36 years. Few, though, had their eyes on the clock, least of all Fermin, the new Olympic Champion. Spain’s first ever at that distance.

Cacho’s leap to Atlanta Silver

Four years after winning his Olympic title, Fermin Cacho was back in the Olympic 1500m final in Atlanta to defend his title. It was not to be. Morocco’s Hicham El Guerroui fell in front of him, forcing Cacho to leap to avoid crashing out of the race altogether. The 1992 Olympic Champion finished in silver-medal position behind Noureddine Morceli of Algeria.

Jennifer Capriati

9/7/1992 12:00:00 AM

Tennis star Jennifer Capriati was just 16- when she won the Womens singles Olympic gold medal in Barcelona. The American came from a set behind to beatthe 23year old Steffi Graf of Germany. Capriati’s Olympic title was one of many the young New Yorker would win in a glittering professional career that included three Grand Slam titles.

Road to the final

The talented Capriati was seeded third for the Olympic tournament and didn’t drop a set on her way to the quarter-finals where she beat Anke Huber of Germany 6-3,7-6. The Spaniard, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, was waiting for her at the semi-final stage and expected to benefit from playing in front of a home crowd. Vicario lost the first set but won the second and that rattled the young American. Capriati’s reply, however, was devastating and she wrapped up the third set 6-1, and with it a place in the Olympic final.

The final

Despite four previous attempts Capriati had never beaten Steffi Graf and she lost the first set of the final in Barcelona. But the crowd at the Vall d'Hebron Olympic tennis stadium seemed to adopt the 16-year old American as their own.
Steffi Graf was already a two-time Olympic gold medal winner and dominant in the womens game at the time. However, she lost the second set 6-3 and double-faulted at four games all in the third. Capriati saw her opportunity and took the third set 6-4 and with it the match and the Olympic title.

Never again

Capriati played Steffi Graf ten times in total over her career but the Olympic final in Barcelona was to prove her only victory over the German.