7 Things I Know about Grant Hackett

Japan turns out lots of good swimmers. Men like Kosuke Nakajima, who holds the world record in the 100- and 200-breast. I have swum against some of their Olympians when they were still club swimmers.

The rest of the world has some good swimmers, too.

Grant Hackett is one of them.

-Grant Hackett is from Australia and is 28 years old

-He will be competing in the 400 meter and 1500 meter freestyle events at the Olympics

-Hackett is the reigning distance king of the 2000s.

-19-year old Hackett first broke the world record in the 200 freestyle and now holds the WR in 800 and 1500 Freestyle.

-Australians are known for good distance male swimmers.

-In the 90s, it was really difficult to go under 15 minutes in the 1500 freestyle. There was a dominating swimmer known as “distance King” Kieren Perkins from Australia who broke 14:50. Wow! And it went as low as 15:41. Perkins’s records held for a long time even in the 800 Freestyle (not an Olympic event) which was set half way through his 1500 record. WOW!

-Hackett broke that record in 2001. His first record was in the 1500 and he still holds was 14:34. It was the most amazing swim ever done by a distance swimmer.

-Hackett is also known not just as a good swimmer but a good competitor. He was partially sick in the 2000 Olympics. He did not do so well in other events however he won the 1500 on the last day of the Olympics. 2004 Olympic, Hackett had a partially collapsed lung and still swam. It is difficult enough to swim for a long time but without one of your lungs it is really hard. Hackett won the 1500 on the last day of 04 Olympics.

Lesson learned. Take what you have and try to make the best of it. One of Hackett’s greatest races came despite of and through adversity.

-Hackett is considered one of the best swimmers Australia has ever produced.

Guest Blogger – Micah Belew