Heiko Hell (born 5 May 1980) is a German former swimmer, who specialized in long-distance freestyle events.[1] He is a nine-time German swimming champion in the 400, 800, and 1500 m freestyle (2000–2004), and also a three-time Olympic finalist. Hell is a member of Hamburg City Swimming Club (German: Startgemeinschaft Schwimmen Hamburg), and is coached and trained by Dirk Lange.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Heiko Hell |
| National team |  Germany |
| Born | 5 May 1980 Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| Club | SGS Hamburg |
| Coach | Dirk Lange |
Hell made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney with a three-event program. On the first day of the Games, Hell missed a spot for the top 8 final of the 400 m freestyle, finishing in ninth place with a time of 3:50.80.[3] He also competed for the sixth-place German team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. Teaming with Michael Kiedel, Christian Keller, and Stefan Herbst, Hell swam the lead-off leg and recorded a time of 1:50.48.[4] In his last event, 1500 m freestyle, Hell finished outside the medals in eighth place by more than 10 seconds behind Ukraine's Igor Chervynskiy in 15:19.87.[5]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Hell shortened his program, swimming only in the 400 m freestyle. He finished first ahead of his teammate Christian Hein from the Olympic trials, in a FINA A-standard of 3:51.48.[6][7] On the first morning of the Games, Hell placed eighteenth in the preliminaries. Swimming in heat four, he raced to fifth place by a 4.55-second margin behind winner and defending Olympic silver medalist Massimiliano Rosolino of Italy, outside his entry time of 3:52.06.[8][9] He also teamed up with Jens Schreiber, Lars Conrad, and Christian Keller in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. Swimming the second leg, Hell recorded a split of 1:49.15, but the Germans pulled off again with a sixth-place effort, in a final time of 7:16.51.[10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Heiko Hell". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (16 February 2005). "German Appointed as South African Head Coach". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 400m Freestyle Heat 5" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 134. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 4×200m Freestyle Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 341. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 1500m Freestyle Final" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 138. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Steven, Stockbauer Shine on Day Three of German Trials". Swimming World Magazine. 6 June 2004. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Swimming – Men's 400m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 4)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Men's 400m Freestyle Heat 4". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (14 August 2004). "Men's 400 Freestyle Prelims: Hackett Edges Thorpe, Qualifies First for Final; Jensen and Keller Easily Through". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Men's 4×200m Freestyle Final". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (17 August 2004). "USA Downs Aussies in 800 Freestyle Relay in American Record 7:07.33 Italy Takes the Bronze". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Schwimmen 4x200-m-Staffel sicher ins Finale" [4×200-meter relay team secure finals] (in German). Rheinische Post. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
External links
edit- Profile – German Swimming Federation (in German)