Mathieu Fonteyn

Mathieu Fonteyn (born February 14, 1985) is a Belgian former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and butterfly events.[1][2] He represented his nation Belgium at the 2008 Summer Olympics, placing himself among the top 20 swimmers with an illustrious Belgian record in the 200 m butterfly.[3] Fonteyn trained under the tutelage of the national team's assistant coach Rik Valcke at a local swimming club in Bruges until his abrupt retirement shortly before London 2012 due to sustained injuries.[4][5]

Mathieu Fonteyn
Personal information
Full nameMathieu Fonteyn
National team Belgium
Born (1985-02-14) 14 February 1985
Leuven, Belgium
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, butterfly
ClubBruges ZK[1]
CoachRik Valcke[1]

Fonteyn competed for the Belgian swimming squad in the men's 200 m butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Leading up to the Games, he placed fourth in the top-eight final at the European Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands with an Olympic A-cut time of 1:56.86.[6][7] Fonteyn blasted a new Belgian record of 1:56.65 to obtain the seventh spot and nineteenth overall in the last of six preliminary heats, narrowly missing out the top 16 semifinal by just sixth hundredths of a second (0.06) and trailing all-time Olympian and eventual world record holder Michael Phelps, who competed in the same race as Fonteyn, by nearly three seconds.[8][9]

References
  1. "Mathieu Fonteyn". Beijing 2008. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mathieu Fonteyn". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  3. "Mathieu Fonteyn zwemt Belgisch record, maar plaatst zich niet" [Mathieu Fonteyn swam with a Belgian record, but failed to advance] (in Dutch). Het Belang van Limburg. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  4. Lingier, Danny (24 July 2008). "Rik Valcke met Brian Ryckeman en Mathieu Fonteyn naar Peking" [Rik Valcke joins Brian Ryckeman and Mathieu Fonteyn in Beijing] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  5. "Mathieu Fonteyn moet geblesseerd punt zetten achter zwemcarrière" [Mathieu Fonteyn injured; his swimming career is about to end] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  6. "Olympic Cut Sheet – Men's 200m Butterfly" (PDF). Swimming World Magazine. p. 36. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  7. "Belgen in Peking. Mathieu Fonteyn" [Belgian in Beijing: Mathieu Fonteyn] (in Dutch). De Standaard. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  8. "Swimming: Men's 200m Butterfly – Heat 3". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  9. "OS Zwemmen: Mathieu Fonteyn breekt BR op de 200m vlinder" [Mathieu Fonteyn breaks the Belgian record in the 200 m butterfly] (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2016.


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