South African swimmer

Brett Petersen (born 9 September 1976) is a South African former swimmer, who specialised in breaststroke events. He won a gold medal in the 100 m breaststroke at the 1999 All-Africa Games, and later became a top 8 finalist in the same distance at the 2000 Summer Olympics. While studying in the United States, Petersen was part of the 200-yard medley relay team that claimed a top finish at the 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming Championships. Petersen also played for the Florida State Seminoles swimming and diving team under head coach Neil Harper, and later became a graduate of management information systems at the Florida State University in Tallah*ee, Florida.

Petersen established his swimming history at the 1999 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Sydney, where he placed fourth in the 100 m breaststroke, just a small fraction outside the podium. On that same year, Petersen powered home with a gold medal for South Africa in the 100 m breaststroke (1:02.63) at the All-Africa Games in Johannesburg.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Petersen competed only in two swimming events. He established a South African record and achieved a FINA A-standard of 1:01.62 from the Olympic trials in Johannesburg. In the 100 m breaststroke, Petersen finished seventh in a time of 1:01.63, holding off Switzerland's Remo Lütolf by a quarter of a second (0.25). Petersen also teamed up with Simon Thirsk, Nicholas Folker, and Theo Verster in the 4 × 100 m medley relay. Swimming a breaststroke leg in heat two, Petersen recorded a split of 1:02.51, but the South Africans finished the race in fourth place and thirteenth overall with a final time of 3:42.44.

At the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Petersen fought off a challenge from Australia's Simon Cowley to pick up a silver medal in the 50 m breaststroke (28.72).

The following year, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, Petersen failed to receive a single medal in any of his individual events, finishing fourth in the 50 m breaststroke (28.64) and fifth in the 100 m breaststroke (1:02.14).

References

External links

• Player Bio – Florida State Seminoles