Hansen Claims Crown in 100 Breaststroke

By JOHN LOHN
jlohn@delcotimes.com

MONTREAL - Let it be known that, during the 25th day of July 2005, Brendan Hansen stamped himself as the greatest breaststroker in history. No debate, just pure fact. The numbers indicate this much to be true. So does his endless array of championship hardware. Monday night, simply, confirmed his status in the sport.
Taking control from the start, Hansen blazed through the pool at Parc Jean-Drapeau, capturing the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 11th edition of the World Swimming Championships. Hitting the wall in 59.37, Hansen narrowly missed his world record (59.30), but posted the second-fastest time in history.

Although satisfying in itself, the Haverford High graduate's victory was made special by the fact that he avenged his Olympic defeat last summer to Japan's Kosuke Kitajima. This time around, with significant fan support evident on every stroke, Hansen took the top slot - for the present, and for all-time.

Kitajima, a former world-record holder, supplied a swim of 59.53, the third-fastest in the record books. Of the 11 sub-minute swims produced through the years, Hansen (four) and Kitajima (five) have combined for nine of the efforts. Hansen, however, has three of the top five and the top two.

"The extra thing I had tonight was emotion," Hansen said. "When you get beat in front of the crowd like I did last summer, and come out here in the same situation and on the same block, it was like giving me a second chance. I didn't want to screw it up twice.

"I don't think there was any justice to this, but I was motivated. The mark of any great athlete is that after he gets knocked down, he finds a way to get back up. That's what I did."

One of the premier rivalries in the sport, Hansen vs. Kitajima isn't exactly filled with warmth. Competitors since 2001, the men have clashed on the international stage with frequency. Four years ago, Hansen won his first world title at the expense of Kitajima in the 200 breast. The two also dueled at the 2002 Pan-Pacific Championships and at the 2003 World Champs.

But, their defining moment arrived in Athens last summer, during the Olympic Games. When the competition was finished, Hansen possessed a trio of medals, gold in the 400 medley relay, silver in the 100 breast and bronze in the 200 breast. As for Kitajima, he won gold in the 100 and 200 breaststroke disciplines and added a bronze in the medley relay.

It was in the 100 breast where the rivalry was elevated. Narrowly outdistancing Hansen at the wall, Kitajima used his post-race celebration as a vocal audition or sorts, repeatedly screaming in Hansen's ear. Worse, video footage displayed Kitajima blatantly using a dolphin kick off the start and turn, an illegal propulsion maneuver that experts say can cut half a second during the course of the race. The judges failed to call the violation and Kitajima won the race by .17.

Hansen refused to accept a similar outcome. Since the Olympics, he has repeatedly discussed the screaming of Kitajima, acknowledging that the bellows remained fresh in his mind. He also dedicated himself to his training, pushing himself to the max during a year that some athletes are using for a sabbatical.

"Kitajima brings out the best in me," Hansen said. "That's one of the great things about a rivalry and sports. There's someone there to push you and help set new standards. We've taken the event into a new era. To have that many races under a minute, it shows that the barrier can be smashed. To compete at this level, you're going to have to go under a minute."

Hansen split 27.95 at the midpoint of the race, moving out to a comfortable lead over Kitajima, who turned in 28.29. Down the final 50 meters, Kitajima tried to make a move on the American, but was rebuffed. Surging to another level, Hansen maintained his advantage to the wall, leaving no doubt at the finish.

After hitting the touchpad, Hansen looked to the scoreboard, assured himself that he won, and splashed the water in Lane 4. He followed with a fist pump, the most emotion he's shown since the Olympic Trials, where he set each of his world records last summer. In Long Beach (Calif.), his expression was more disbelief. In Montreal, there was satisfaction.

"I think it's good to have Hansen," Kitajima said through an interpreter. "He's going to make me keep my level up. To win, I knew I would have to go around the world record. The last 50, I got stiff and that led to my result."

Replicating the Olympic finish, France's Hugues Duboscq picked up the bronze medal with a time of 1:00.20, slightly faster than the 1:00.36 of the Ukraine's Oleg Lisogor. Russia's Dmitry Komornikov was fifth (1:00.66).

Since making his first international appearance in 1999, at the World Short Course Championships in Hong Kong, Hansen has been a staple on the global scene. Difficult to maintain superiority over a six-year span in any stroke, the breaststroke - historically - has been the most demanding when it comes to longevity. A body-beating discipline, the breast has seen its share of champions fade from the spotlight in rapid fashion, Russia's Roman Sloudnov and the United States' Ed Moses serving as recent examples. Both were world-record holders, but suddenly found their times rising, a death blow in swimming.

Hansen, though, has maintained a firm grip on his excellence for more than half a decade, continually cashing in during major competitions. More important, there is no reason to believe he will slide at any time in the near future. His times in his first event at these World Champs were dazzling and, if his instincts are on target, Hansen anticipates grander accomplishments later this week, once the 200 breast kicks into gear.

For the next two days, Hansen will have the opportunity to recharge his battery, as he has opted to bypass the 50 breast. Qualified for the event, a non-Olympic discipline, he saw no reason to expend unnecessary energy with the 200 distance on the horizon. His decision, also bolstered by unselfishness, has given American Scott Usher a second race this week, complementing the 200 breast.

So, for 48 hours, Hansen will have the chance to cherish his redemption. Well, more likely, the ultra-focused athlete will turn his attention to the 200 breast and devise a strategy for breaking his world record (2:09.04) in that event.

"I was prepared for this," Hansen said. "I treated this like it was the Olympics. I was more fresh and faster than I was in Athens. To not do my best at the Olympics hurt so bad. The coaches told me to put on blinders, like they do with the horses. In Athens, I swam (Kitajima's) race. Here, I swam mine."
Right into history.

ETA: Photos from Worlds now in the Photo Gallery.