Mark Henderson (swimmer)

Last updated

Mark Henderson
Mark Henderson Olympics.jpg
Personal information
Full nameMark Andrew Henderson
National teamFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Born (1969-11-14) November 14, 1969 (age 54)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight194 lb (88 kg)
SpouseTamara Henderson
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Butterfly, Freestyle, Backstroke
Club Nation's Capital Swim Club
College team University of California, Berkeley
CoachJeff King, Nort Thornton
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1996 Atlanta 4×100 m medley
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1991 Perth 4×100 m medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Rome 4×100 m medley
World Championships (SC)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Palma 4×100 m medley
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1993 Palma 100 m butterfly
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1993 Palma 4×100 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1991 Edmonton 4×100 m medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Kobe 100 m butterfly
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Kobe 4×100 m medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Atlanta 4×100 m medley
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1995 Atlanta 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1989 Tokyo 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1991 Edmonton 100 m butterfly
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Mar del Plata 100 m butterfly
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Mar del Plata 4×100 m medley

Mark Andrew Henderson (born November 14, 1969) is a United States Olympic champion and former world record-holder. He is an Olympic gold medalist, three-time World champion, two-time Pan American Games champion, four-time Pan Pacific champion and five-time U.S. National champion. He competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where he was the butterfly leg of the gold medal 4×100-meter medley relay, which set the World, Olympic, American, and U.S. Open records. [1] He was on the U.S. National Swim Team for over 9 years.

Contents

Career

Before his high school years, Olympic champion Mark Henderson swam for the Fort Washington Pool Sharks in the Prince-Monte Swim League in Fort Washington, Prince Georges County, Maryland, where he still holds records in the 10-year-old & Under 25-meter Butterfly in 1980 and the 15-18-year-old 100 Freestyle in 1988. [2] While in high school, Henderson swam for Curl-Burke Swim Club (renamed to Nation's Capital Swim Club) and was coached by Jeff King. [3] He credits his success to his Coach Jeff King, his parents and the people he trained with. He attended college at the University of California, Berkeley where he swam for coach Nort Thornton's California Golden Bears swimming and diving team.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1992, Henderson entered the meet ranked 2nd in the world in the 100m butterfly but concentrated too much on his competition and took out his race much too fast (under world record pace at the 50m mark). He led the race to the final 10 meters, where he "bonked" and dropped from first to seventh place. It was a turning point in his life, though.

Henderson returned to competition after an 8-month retirement with a vengeance. In 1993, Henderson won gold at the U.S. Open and Summer U.S. Nationals and another two gold medals at the Pan Pacific Championships. He finished his comeback year with a gold and two silvers at the inaugural Short Course World Championships in Palma, Majorca.

In 1994, Henderson joined the first USA Swimming resident team, which was located at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was run and coached by former world record holder Jonty Skinner. Over the next two years, Skinner coached Henderson to two National titles, a gold at the World Championships, a gold and silver at the Pan Pacific Championships and two Pan American Gold medals. Henderson found redemption at the 1996 Olympic Trials by qualifying for the team in the 100-meter butterfly.

Upon his retirement from swimming, Henderson worked in the financial industry, concentrating on Japan and U.S. equities for 16 years for the likes of JP Morgan Securities, Citigroup, and Janney Montgomery Scott. Part of that time he spent living in Tokyo, Japan. Mark retired from Wall Street in 2016 and started a company called The Athletes Village, which focused on leveling the playing field for athletes by sharing valuable training and competition information for free. They did this by providing an easy way for elite athletes and experts in all fields of sports (coaching, parenting, nutrition, psychology, strength training, injury prevention, etc.) an easy way to connect and give back to young athletes around the world. The platform reached athletes, parents, and coaches in over 30 countries within four years of being online.

He now divides his time between Florida and Bend, OR. Mark is a partner at a financial advisory firm (Westhoff-Henderson Group - a subsidiary of Raymond James) that specializes in high-net-worth individuals/families and professional athletes.

Personal

Mark started dating Summer Sanders in 1994 while training at the U.S.A. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. He proposed to her two years later on the field at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games. They were married from 1997 to 2001.

Mark met Tamara Blanchard in San Francisco in 2004, and the two were married in 2006. They have two children: Brooke and Brady, a Black Labrador (Hank), a Double Dapple Dachshund (Gator), and a Catahoula leopard dog (Lax). Mark and his family live in Bend, Oregon and Bradenton,Florida, where they spend their free time hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. Both kids are attending IMG Academy as lacrosse players.

Charitable endeavors

Since his retirement from competitive swimming, Henderson has been a member of USA Swimming's Athlete Executive Council (AEC) (2000–2008), USA Swimming Board member (2000–2008), United States Olympic Committee Athlete Advisory Council (AAC) member (2000–2008), Chair of the AAC (2004–2008), current Board member of the Leo Brien Foundation, Olympic solidarity representative to Zimbabwe (2000–present), Co-founder of S.W.I.M (Swim With Inspiration and Motivation) learn-to-swim program for inner-city youth in San Francisco, and he is also a participant/ member in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (1988–present) and Swim Across America. In 2008, Henderson was the recipient of the USA Swimming Athlete Appreciation Award. Mark has also been very active in giving back to the global swimming community by answering questions from athletes, parents and coaches located all over the world on the platform The Athletes Village. he is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Women's Sports Foundation

See also

Related Research Articles

Jennifer Beth Thompson is an American former competition swimmer and anesthesiologist.

Matthew Nicholas Biondi is an American former competitive swimmer and water polo player. As a swimmer, he is an eleven-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in five events. Biondi competed in the Summer Olympic Games in 1984, 1988 and 1992, winning a total of eleven medals. During his career, he set three individual world records in the 50-meter freestyle and four in the 100-meter freestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Stouder</span> American swimmer (1948–2013)

Sharon Marie Stouder, also known by her married name Sharon Stouder Clark, was an American competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events.

David Lee "Dave" Wharton is an American former competition swimmer, 1988 Olympic silver medalist, and former world record-holder in two events. During his competition swimming career, Wharton set world records in both the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events.

Jon C. Olsen is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Olsen was a successful relay swimmer for the U.S. national team in the late 1980s and 1990s. He has won a total of 27 medals in major international competition, 20 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, Pan Pacific, and the Pan American championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melvin Stewart</span> American swimmer

Melvin Monroe Stewart Jr. is an American swimming promoter, former competition swimmer and world record-holder who won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He is the co-founder and publisher of the swimming news website, SwimSwam, and a producer-director of commercials through his company, Gold Medal Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Robie</span> American swimmer (1945–2011)

Carl Joseph Robie III was an American competitive swimmer, who swam for the University of Michigan and was first a silver medalist in the 1964 Olympics, and then a gold medalist in the 1968 Olympics. He was a three-time world record-holder in the 200-meter butterfly, continuing to lower his times from 1961-63. After graduating Dickinson Law School around 1970, he practiced civil law in Sarasota, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Russell (swimmer)</span> American swimmer (born 1946)

Douglas Albert Russell is an American former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three different events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Adrian</span> American swimmer (born 1988)

Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Phelps</span> American swimmer (born 1985)

Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Phelps tied the record of eight medals of any color at a single Games, held by gymnast Alexander Dityatin, by winning six gold and two bronze medals. Four years later, when he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he broke fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four gold and two silver medals, and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won five gold medals and one silver. This made him the most successful athlete of the Games for the fourth Olympics in a row.

Rachel Komisarz, also known by her married name Rachel Komisarz-Baugh, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world record-holder and collegiate swimming coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Clary</span> American swimmer (born 1989)

Scott Tyler Clary is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. In his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Clary won gold in the 200-meter backstroke in Olympic record time. In total, he won sixteen medals in major international competitions: three gold, eight silver, and five bronze spanning the Summer Olympics, the FINA World Championships, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Pan American Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Murphy (swimmer)</span> American swimmer (born 1995)

Ryan Fitzgerald MurphyOLY is an American competitive swimmer specializing in backstroke. He is a five-time Olympic gold medalist and the former world-record holder in the men's 100-meter backstroke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Jagenburg</span> American swimmer

Gregory "Greg" Jagenburg is an American former competition swimmer and a World Aquatics Champion in butterfly who swam for Long Beach State and the University of Arizona under Hall of Fame Coach Dick Jochums. In August 1975, Jagenburg swam a 2:00.73 in the 200-meter butterfly, just .03 seconds behind Mark Spitz's standing world record in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nic Fink</span> American swimmer (born 1993)

Nicolas Fink is an American competitive swimmer. He is a five-time world champion in breaststroke events and a 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist in the 100 meter breaststroke. He is a world record holder in the short course 4×100 meter medley relay and 4×50 meter mixed medley relay. He is the Americas record holder in the short course 50 meter breaststroke, 100 meter breaststroke, and 200 meter breaststroke as well as the American record holder in the long course 50 meter breaststroke. In the 50 meter breaststroke, he won the World Short Course titles in 2021 and 2022 and World Long Course title in 2022. In the 100 meter breaststroke, he is the 2022 World Short Course gold medalist. In the 200 meter breaststroke, he is the 2021 World Short Course gold medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chase Kalisz</span> American swimmer (born 1994)

Chase Tyler Kalisz is an American swimmer who specializes in individual medley events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, an Olympic silver medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and a two-time World Aquatics Championships gold medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caeleb Dressel</span> American swimmer (born 1996)

Caeleb Remel Dressel is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He swims representing the Cali Condors as part of the International Swimming League. He won a record seven gold medals at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, nine medals, six of which were gold, at the 2018 World Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, and eight medals, including six gold, at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju. Dressel is a nine-time Olympic gold medalist and holds world records in the 100 meter butterfly, 50 meter freestyle, and 100 meter individual medley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Andrew (swimmer)</span> American swimmer (born 1999)

Michael Charles Andrew is an American competitive swimmer and an Olympic gold medalist. He was the 2016 world champion in the 100 meter individual medley. At his first Olympic Games, the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal and set a world record as part of the 4x100 meter medley relay, placed fourth in the 100 meter breaststroke, fourth in the 50 meter freestyle, and fifth in the 200 meter individual medley. Andrew's swims in 2021 at the 2020 Olympics made him the first swimmer to represent the United States at an Olympic Games in an individual breaststroke event as well as another individual event other than an individual medley in the then-125-year-history of swimming at the Summer Olympics. He has won 78 medals at Swimming World Cup circuits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townley Haas</span> American swimmer (born 1996)

Francis Townley Haas is a retired American competitive swimmer who specialized in freestyle events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Haas competed collegiately for the University of Texas at Austin from 2015 to 2019 under head coach Eddie Reese where he was a 10-time NCAA Champion, a 17-time All-American, and a 3-time NCAA team champion. He is the former American record-holder in the 200-yard freestyle (1:29.50) and represented the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Finke</span> American swimmer (born 1999)

Robert Christian FinkeOLY, better known as Bobby Finke, is an American competitive swimmer. He won two gold medals for the United States in the 2020 Summer Olympics: the men's 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle swims. Finke successfully defended his title in 1500 m freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics, setting the world record and added a silver medal in the 800 m freestyle. He swam for the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida from 2018–2022 under Coach Anthony Nesty. He currently swims as part of the pro group at UF. Before swimming in college, Bobby swam for Coach Fred Lewis on the Saint Petersburg Aquatics club team, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

References

  1. ↑ "1996 Olympics – Atlanta, United States – Swimming" – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on May 3, 2008)
  2. ↑ "PMSL - Records (SCY)".
  3. ↑ "www.cubu.org". www.cubu.org. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
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.