Hannah McLean

Last updated

Hannah McLean
Gg-oct2020-olympicwsla 225-2 (cropped).jpg
McLean in 2020
Personal information
NationalityNew Zealand
Born1 July 1981
London, England
Sport
Sport Swimming
Event Backstroke
ClubNorth Shore Swimming Club
Coached byBrett Green, Jan Cameron, Igor Polianski, Thomas Ansorg
Medal record
Women's Swimming
Representing Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 200m backstroke
World Championships (SC)
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Shanghai 200 m Backstroke

Hannah McLean (born 1 July 1981 in London, England) is a former competitive swimmer for New Zealand. During her career she won medals in the 200 metre backstroke at the Commonwealth Games and World Short Course Championships, set Commonwealth Games record and competed at the 2004 Olympic Games. [1]

Contents

McLean was educated in Auckland at Epsom Girls Grammar and King's College and graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in English. [2]

Swimming career

McLean first raced for New Zealand at the 1998 FINA Swimming World Cup during the stop at Hong Kong, where the sixteen year old was part of a strong contingent of New Zealand swimmers including fellow young swimmers Lydia Lipscombe and Helen Norfolk who were amongst the backstroke medals as McLean grabbed two 5th-place finishes in the 50 metre backstroke and 100 metre backstroke, and an 8th-place finish in the 200 metre backstroke. [3]

In the lead up to the 2000 Summer Olympics, McLean narrowly missed the qualifying mark by 0.17. [4]

At the 2002 FINA Swimming World Cup, McLean won the bronze medal in the 200 metre backstroke in a time of 2:13.07 ahead of compatriot Melissa Ingram, a second bronze in the 100 metre backstroke in a time of 1:02.02 and finished 4th in the 50 metre backstroke. [5]

During her career, McLean won further medals in backstroke at World Cup meets including a bronze in the 100m backstroke in Australian in 2003, silver in the 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke, bronze in the 50 metre and 200 metre backstroke in 2004 during the Australian and South African stops in 2004. [6]

2002 Commonwealth Games

The 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester served as the senior international breakthrough for 21 year old McLean as she claimed some valuable finals appearances. Her performances were highlighted with a 6th-place finish in the 100 metre backstroke in a time of 1:02.91, 8th-place finish in the 50 metre backstroke in a time of 28.21, and 10th-place finish in the 200 metre backstroke in a time of 2:15.11. She also raced in the 50 metre butterfly but did not progress into the semi-finals. [1]

2002 Pan Pacific championships

Backing up from the Commonwealth Games, McLean competed at the 2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships with an 7th-place finish in the final of the 200 metre backstroke in a time of 2:14.74 and an 8th-place finish in the final of the 100 metre backstroke in a time of 1:03.28. McLean was part of the 4x100 metre freestyle and 4x100 metre medley relays which both finished 5th. She also raced the 50 metre freestyle but did not progress into the semi-finals. [6]

2003 World championships

At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, McLean made the semi-finals of the 200 metre backstroke with a 10th-place finish in a time of 2:13.39, 12th-place finish in the 100 metre backstroke in a time of 1:02.47 and 15th-place finish in the 50 metre backstroke in a time of 29.36. McLean also raced in the 50m freestyle and was part of the New Zealand 4x200 metre freestyle relay that was disqualified. [6]

2004 Olympics

McLean qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics at the 2004 New Zealand Championships in the heats if the 100 m backstroke with a personal best time of 1:01.55. [7] She would go onto qualify in the 200m backstroke additionally at the meet. [8] At the games, McLean missed out on the final by 0.25 after finishing 5th in the semi-final of the 200 metre backstroke in a time of 2:12.87. [9] She did not progress into the semi-finals her favored 100 metre backstroke after swimming a 1:03.09. [10] McLean struggled with the sunlight in the open pool at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre, crashing into the lane ropes several times during the 100 metre backstroke contributing to a slower time. [4] She was also part of the 4x100 metre medley relay team that finished 13th. [11]

2005 World championships

Two years later at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, McLean became the first New Zealander in seven years to qualify for an individual final at world championships when she finished 5th in the final of the 100 metre backstroke in a time of 1:01.16. [12] McLean also made the final of the 50 metre backstroke where she finished 7th in the final in a time of 28.90. She narrowley missed out of the final of the 200 metre backstroke finishing 0.02 behind Zhao Jing of China. McLean was part of the 4x100 metre freestyle team that finished 8th in the final and the 4x100 metre medley team that did not progress to the final. [6]

2006 Commonwealth Games

McLean won a bronze medal in the 200 meter backstroke at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne in a time of 2:12.47. She also claimed two 4th-place finishes in the 50 metre backstroke in a time of 28.89 and the 100 metre backstroke in a time of 1:01.71. McLean took part in both the 4x100 metre freestyle and 4x100 metre medley relay teams that both finished 4th. During the 4x100 metre medley relay, McLean swum a 1:00.83 in the backstroke leg to break the games record which she held until 2010 when broken by Emily Seebohm. [13] The time was a new New Zealand record and was faster than the individual gold medal-winning time of Sophie Edington who had earlier set the games record at 1:00.93. [14]

2006 World championships

Following on from the Commonwealth Games, McLean claimed a further international bronze medal at the 2006 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Shanghai. Racing in the 200 metre backstroke, McLean swum a 2:06.96 to finish behind Margaret Hoelzer and Tayliah Zimmer in the final, while she finished 4th in the 100 metre backstroke in a time of 59.00 and 5th in the 50 metre backstroke in a time of 27.76. [15]

Performing well in the 25 metre pool, McLean set new New Zealand records in the 50 metre, 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke, notably becoming the first New Zealand women under 59 seconds during the heats of the 100 metre backstroke and breaking Anna Simcic's New Zealand record that had stood for fourteen years which at the time was the world record. [14]

Following her performances at the Commonwealth Games and World Championships, McLean was nominated as Sportswoman of the Year at the 2006 Halberg awards that was won by Commonwealth Games teammate Valerie Vili. [16]

McLean retired from competitive swimming in 2006.

Related Research Articles

Gail Michelle Jonson is a former medley and butterfly swimmer from New Zealand, who won a bronze medal in the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 1982 Commonwealth Games. She also represented her native country at 1984 Summer Olympics.

Neil Cochran is a Scottish former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics, European championships and World University Games, and swam for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games, during the 1980s. Cochran competed in medley and freestyle swimming events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Seebohm</span> Australian swimmer (born 1992)

Emily Jane Seebohm, OAM is a retired Australian swimmer and television personality. She has appeared at four Olympic Games between 2008 and 2021; and won three Olympic gold medals, five world championship gold medals and seven Commonwealth Games gold medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fran Halsall</span> British swimmer (born 1990)

Francesca Jean Halsall is a retired English competitive swimmer who has represented Great Britain at the Olympics, FINA world championships, and European championships, and England at the Commonwealth Games. She competed primarily in freestyle and butterfly events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alicia Coutts</span> Australian swimmer (born 1987)

Alicia Jayne Coutts, is an Australian competitive medley, butterfly and freestyle swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She was a Swimming Australia National Training Centre scholarship holder and was coached by John Fowlie. Her haul of five medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics matches fellow Australians Ian Thorpe and Shane Gould in one single Olympics, and trails only Emma McKeon’s seven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katerine Savard</span> Canadian swimmer (born 1993)

Katerine Savard is a Canadian former competitive swimmer who specializes in women's butterfly events and freestyle relay. She holds several Canadian national records in the butterfly over the 50-, 100-, and 200-metre distances in both the short and long courses. Savard also holds the Canadian junior butterfly record in the 200-metre event. She won the gold medal at the 100-metre butterfly event at the 2013 Summer Universiade, held in Kazan. Savard also won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 100-metre butterfly in Glasgow, where she set the Commonwealth record in the process. At the same games, she won a bronze medal as a member of the women's 4×100-metre medley relay team.

Georgia Beth Davies is a British competition swimmer who has represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games and European championships, and swam for Wales in the Commonwealth Games. She has won gold in the Commonwealth Games and European Championships. She currently represents Energy Standard in the International Swimming League.

Apostolos Christou is a Greek swimmer specializing in backstroke. He is the Greek National Record holder in the 100 metre freestyle and 50, 100, and 200 metre backstroke events, as well as contributing to national record efforts in the 4x100 metre freestyle and medley relays. He is a three-time Olympian, qualifying in 2016, 2021, and most recently 2024, where he became Greece's first Olympic medalist in swimming since the inaugural 1896 Games through his 2nd place finish in the 200 metre backstroke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma McKeon</span> Australian swimmer (born 1994)

Emma Jennifer McKeon, is a retired Australian competitive swimmer. She is an eight-time world record holder, three current and five former, in relays. Her total career haul of 14 Olympic medals following the 2024 Olympic Games made her the most decorated Australian, the third-most decorated swimmer, and the seventh-most decorated athlete in Olympic history and included one gold medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, four gold medals from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and one gold medal from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. With four gold and three bronze medals she was the most decorated athlete across all sports at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and tied for the most medals won by a woman in a single Olympic Games. She also won 20 medals, including five gold medals, at the World Aquatics Championships; and a record 20 medals, including 14 gold, at the Commonwealth Games.

Taylor Madison Ruck is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She won two Olympic bronze medals as part of Canada's women's 4×100 metre and 4×200 metre freestyle relay teams at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Ruck won eight medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Her eight medal performance of one gold, five silver, and two bronze tied her with three other athletes for the most all-time at a single Commonwealth Games, as well as making her the most decorated Canadian female athlete ever at a single Commonwealth Games. Ruck is the all-time leading medallist at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships having won nine gold, two silver, and two bronze over the course of the 2015 and 2017 editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kylie Masse</span> Canadian swimmer

Kylie Jacqueline Masse is a Canadian competitive swimmer. A noted backstroke specialist, she is a five-time Olympic medallist, three-time World Aquatics champion, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and the 2018 Pan Pacific champion in the 100 metre backstroke. She is currently the captain for the Toronto Titans of the International Swimming League.

Corey Charles Garth Main is a New Zealand swimmer who qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the men's 100 metre backstroke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary-Sophie Harvey</span> Canadian swimmer (born 1999)

Mary-Sophie Harvey is a Canadian swimmer who competed as part of Team Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Shayna Louise Jack is an Australian swimmer. She won gold medals in Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay and Women's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Rebecca Meder is a South African swimmer. She is the African record holder in the 100 metre individual medley and the South African record holder in the long course and short course 200 metre individual medley. At the 2022 World Short Course Championships, she placed sixth in the final of the 100 metre individual medley. In the 200 metre individual medley at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she placed fourth in the final. At the 2021 African Championships, she won 11 gold medals, six in individual events and five in relay events, swimming on the finals relay for each of the five relay events.

Chelsey Edwards is a New Zealand competitive swimmer who has represented New Zealand at three different world championship events and is a Commonwealth Youth Games gold medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Ceccon</span> Italian swimmer (born 2001)

Thomas Ceccon is an Italian swimmer. He is a world record holder in the long course 100 metre backstroke and the short course 4×100 metre freestyle relay. He is also the Italian record holder in the long course 50 metre backstroke and 50 metre butterfly. He is the 2022 World champion in the 100 metre backstroke and 2022 European champion in the 100 metre backstroke and 50 metre butterfly. In the 100 metre individual medley, he won the gold medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships and the bronze medal at the 2021 World Short Course Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in 4×100 metre freestyle relay, a bronze medal in the 4×100 metre medley relay, placed fourth in the 100 metre backstroke, and placed twelfth in the 100 metre freestyle. On 29 July 2024 he won gold for the 100m backstroke in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Simon Percy is a New Zealand swimmer. He competed in the 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1991 World Champs and the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Summer Ann McIntosh is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She is a three-time Olympic champion, four-time World Aquatics champion, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. Noted for her strength in medley and butterfly events, she is the world record holder in the 400 metre individual medley, and also holds the Olympic and textile records in the 200 metre butterfly event, and the Olympic record in the 200 metre individual medley. In the short course pool, she is a four-time World Swimming Championships gold medallist and holds world records in the 400 metre freestyle, 200 metre butterfly, and 400 metre individual medley events.

Medi Eira Harris is a Welsh international swimmer competing for Great Britain and Wales in backstroke and freestyle. She was part of the gold medal-winning women's 4x100 freestyle relay team at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships. Representing Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she won a bronze medal in the women's 100 metre backstroke.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hannah Mclean | New Zealand Olympic Team". olympic.org.nz. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  2. ↑ "Swimming: Holding on to a dream". The New Zealand Herald. 6 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Competition Results | World Aquatics Official". World Aquatics. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Olympic and Paralympic Perspectives: Hannah McLean – HPSNZ". hpsnz.org.nz. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Competition Results | World Aquatics Official". World Aquatics. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Hannah MCLEAN | Results | World Aquatics Official". World Aquatics. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Swimming: McLean first to qualify for Olympics". The New Zealand Herald. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Six to watch: New Zealand – Olympics News". The New Zealand Herald. 6 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "Athens 2004 Swimming 200m backstroke women Results". Olympics. 20 August 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Athens 2004 Swimming 100m backstroke women Results". Olympics. 16 August 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Athens 2004 Swimming 4x100m medley relay women Results". Olympics. 21 August 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Swimming: Record-breaking McLean into world champs final". The New Zealand Herald. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  13. ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Liam Tancock, Christian Sprenger, Emily Seebohm Down Games Records During Day Two Finals | Swimming World" . Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  14. 1 2 "Swimming: Hannah McLean back to her very best". The New Zealand Herald. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Competition Results | World Aquatics Official". World Aquatics. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  16. ↑ "Halberg awards nomination list released". The New Zealand Herald. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.