- Johan Kenkhuis
Johan Kenkhuis (born
May 7 ,1980 inVriezenveen ) is an Olympic medal winning Dutchswimmer .From a young age, Kenkhuis had a strong interest in swimming. In 1998, he won gold medals in both the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events in the European Junior Championships. At the
2000 Olympic Games inSydney ,Australia , Johan was a member of the bronze medal 4x200 meter freestyle relay team. He also helped theNetherlands win a silver medal at the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka,Japan in 2001 as a member of the 4x100 meter freestyle relay team.However, by 2002, he was growing tired of the sport and close to retirement. His coach, Fedor Hes, helped him develop a different training strategy which involved spending more time on dry land. Seemingly invigorated by the new training style, Johan quickly progressed enough to win fourth place at the 50 meter freestyle event in the FINA World Championships in
Barcelona ,Spain . He was only 0.01 seconds behind the bronze medalist.In the
2004 Olympic Games , Johan was a member of the Dutch Olympic swim team. As the starting swimmer in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay, alongsidePieter van den Hoogenband ,Mitja Zastrow , andKlaas-Erik Zwering he played a critical role in securing a silver medal in the event.Kenkhuis is currently living in
Amsterdam where he is a member ofDe Dolfijn SPAX swim club but trains withXLence Swimteam . He is a Business and Marketing major at theJohan Cruyff University in Amsterdam.Kenkhuis was one of only eleven openly
gay athletes to participate in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.citation |title=Out and silver in Holland |periodical=The Advocate |date=December 7 ,2004 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2004_Dec_7/ai_n8706668 |first=John |last=Caldwell |accessdate=2007-10-31 ] In November 2006 he announced that he would quit swimming on the highest level after the 2006 European Championships Shortourse inHelsinki, Finland .See also
*
Dutch records in swimming
*Gay athletes References
External links
* [http://www.zwemkroniek.com/whoswho.php3?action=1&id=5 Zwemkroniek Online Profile] nl icon
* [http://www.swimteam.nl/index.php?option=content&task=category§ionid=4&id=31&Itemid=93 XLence Swimteam Profile] nl icon
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