Nicole Zahnd

Last updated
Nicole Zahnd
Personal information
Full nameNicole Zahnd
National teamFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
Born (1980-09-22) 22 September 1980 (age 44) [1]
Bern, Switzerland
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
ClubVevey Natation
Genève Natation 1885
CoachDirk Reinecke

Nicole Zahnd (born 22 September 1980) is a retired Swiss swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. She was born in Bern. [2] She is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2004), and a top 8 finalist in the 200 m freestyle at the 2001 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. [3] Zahnd played for two swimming clubs in Geneva, before she trained under head coach Dirk Reinecke as part of the Swiss national team. Zahnd is also the wife of former medley swimmer and two-time Olympian Yves Platel (2000 and 2004). [4]

Zahnd made her own swimming history, as a 16-year-old, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing seventeenth as part of the Swiss relay team in the 4×100 m freestyle (3:53.30), and sixteenth in the 4×200 m freestyle (8:21.55). [5] [6]

After an eight-year absence, Zahnd competed in all relays from the swimming program at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. [7] [8] [9] On the first day of the Games, Zahnd teamed up with Dominique Diezi, Marjorie Sagne, and 16-year-old Seraina Prünte in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg, Zahnd recorded a split of 56.50, the fastest in Swiss history, and her team finished the race in seventh place and fifteenth overall in a final time of 3:48.61. [10] [11] Four days later, in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, Zahnd placed twelfth, along with Chantal Strasser, Hanna Miluska, and Flavia Rigamonti, in 8:10.41. [12] [13] In her final event, 4×100 m medley relay, Zahnd swam the anchor freestyle leg, with Diezi (backstroke), Carmela Schlegel (breaststroke), and Carla Stampfli (butterfly), to pull off another fifteenth-place effort for the Swiss team in a time of 4:15.54. In the race, Zahnd lowered her personal best to 56.07 seconds. [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

Nataliya Dmitriyevna Shalagina is a Russian former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. She is a 2003 Russian swimming champion in the 100 m freestyle, and a two-time relay medalist at the Russian Championships. Shalagina is a member of PK Yekaterinburg, and is coached and trained by her father Dmitry Shalagin.

Hanna Miluska is a Swiss former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events and open water marathon. She is a two-time medalist in the 5 km open water at the World and European Championships. Miluska is also a member of Beider Basel Swimming Club, and is trained by her long-time coach Axel Mitbauer. She is also the daughter of former rower Ivan Miluška, who played for Czechoslovakia in the men's pairs at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Olena Pavlivna Lapunova is a Ukrainian former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and individual medley events. She is a three-time Olympian, an eighth-place finalist at the European Championships (1997), and a former Ukrainian record holder in the 200 m freestyle and individual medley.

Shim Min-ji is a South Korean former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and backstroke events. She is a two-time Olympian and a three-time relay medalist at the Asian Games (2002).

Yves Platel is a Swiss former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and individual medley events. He is a two-time Olympian, and currently holds four Swiss records in long-distance freestyle and the 400 m individual medley. Platel is a member of Genève Natation 1885 in Geneva, and is coached and trained by Dirk Reinecke.

Dominique Lorraine Diezi is a Swiss former swimmer who specialized in sprint freestyle events. She is a two-time Olympian, a 32-time Swiss national champion, a multiple-time record holder in sprint freestyle, and a member of Switzerland's national swimming team (1992–2004). She also earned multiple All-American honors while studying in the United States.

Ratapong "Nuk" Sirisanont is a Thai former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke, but also competed in long-distance freestyle and individual medley. He is a four-time Olympian, a three-time Asian Games participant, and a seven-time SEA Games athlete (1991–2003). Regarded as Thailand's top swimmer, he has won a total of sixteen medals at the Southeast Asian Games since 1995, and six at the Asian Games, including two golds in the 200 and 400 m individual medley. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Sirisanont became the first Thai swimmer to reach the final twice. Sirisanont is also one of three Southeast Asian swimmers, along with Malaysia's Alex Lim and Philippines' Miguel Molina, to train for the California Golden Bears in the United States, under head coach Nort Thornton.

Oleg Pukhnatiy is an Uzbek former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and individual medley events. He is a three-time Olympian, and a top 16 finalist at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

Arsenio Alexander López Rosario, also known as Alex Lopez, is a Puerto Rican former swimmer and three-time Olympian who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events.

Aikaterini "Katia" Sarakatsani is a Greek swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events. She is a three-time Olympian, a former Greek record holder in the breaststroke, and a member of the swimming team for Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, under head coach Vojko Race.

Aleksandr Agafonov is an Uzbek former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympian, a two-time swimmer at the Asian Games, and a former Uzbekistani age group record holder in the 100 and 200 m freestyle.

Riley Janes is a Canadian former competition swimmer who specialized in freestyle and backstroke events. He is a single-time Olympian (2004), and is part of the bronze-medal Canadian medley relay team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.

Kathryn Evans is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games. Evans specialised in freestyle and individual medley events. She is a two-time Olympian, and a double British champion in the 200 m individual medley. Evans also played for Nova Centurion Swim Club in Nottingham, under head coach Bill Furniss. Evans is the cousin of late rower Acer Nethercott, who competed in the men's eight at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Marjorie Sagne is a Swiss former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. She is a single-time Olympian (2004), and a six-time Swiss titleholder in the 100 m freestyle.

Seraina Then (Prünte) is a Swiss former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. She currently holds a Swiss record in the 100 m freestyle (56.06) from the German Olympic Trials in Berlin (2008). A single-time Olympian (2004), Prunte played for the Nikar Swimming Club in Heidelberg, before she trained under head coach Dirk Reinecke as part of the Swiss national team.

Nathalie Bernard is a South African-born New Zealand former swimmer, who specialised in freestyle events. She is a single-time Olympian (2004), and a member of North Shore Swim Club in Auckland, under head coach Thomas Ansorg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Stampfli</span> Swiss swimmer (born 1984)

Carla Stampfli is a Swiss former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events and later became a professional triathlete. She is a single-time Olympian (2004), a 27-time Swiss swimming champion, and a short-course national record holder in the 100 m butterfly (2007).

Carmela Schlegel is a former Swiss swimmer who specialized in breaststroke events. She is a single-time Olympian (2004), a double Swiss champion, and a former national record holder in the 100 m breaststroke. Schlegel also played for Uster Wallisellen Swim Club in Uster, under her coach Ralph Müller.

Karina Helene Muller is a South African former swimmer, who specialised in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. She represented South Africa in two editions of the Olympic Games, and later captured two silver medals each in sprint freestyle and medley relay at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Tsai Shu-min is a retired Taiwanese swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and in individual medley. She represented Chinese Taipei in two editions of the Olympic Games, and later earned four medals in swimming, including her first ever gold, at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

References

  1. ↑ "Nicole Platel-Zahnd". Mitgleider (in German). Swiss Olympians. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  2. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nicole Zahnd". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Lord, Craig (16 December 2001). "Four European Records Fall, Moravcova Steals the Show and Klochkova Upset on Final Day of Euro SC Champs". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Jahresbericht Zentralpräsident Frank Lutz" [Annual report from executive president Frank Lutz] (in German). Swiss Swimming Federation. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Women's 4×100m Freestyle Relay Heat 2" (PDF). Atlanta 1996 . LA84 Foundation. p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Women's 4×200m Freestyle Relay Heat 1" (PDF). Atlanta 1996 . LA84 Foundation. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Swimming – Women's 4×100m Freestyle Relay Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Athens 2004 . Omega Timing. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Swimming – Women's 4×200m Freestyle Relay Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Athens 2004 . Omega Timing. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Swimming – Women's 4×100m Medley Relay Startlist (Heat 1)" (PDF). Athens 2004 . Omega Timing. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Women's 4×100m Freestyle Heat 2". Athens 2004 . BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  11. ↑ Thomas, Stephen (14 August 2004). "Women's 400 Freestyle Relay Prelims: Aussie Women Qualify Fastest Ahead of Team USA; Germans and Dutch in the Mix". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "Women's 4×200m Freestyle Relay Heat 2". Athens 2004 . BBC Sport. 18 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  13. ↑ Thomas, Stephen (18 August 2004). "Women's 800 Freestyle Relay, Day 5 Prelims: Team USA Posts the Fastest Time, Brits and Aussies Next". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  14. ↑ "Women's 4×100m Medley Heat 1". Athens 2004 . BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  15. ↑ Thomas, Stephen (20 August 2004). "Women's 400 Medley Relay, Prelims Day 7: Aussies Qualify Ahead of USA in Two-Way Battle for Gold". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
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.