Ian Crocker (born August 31, 1982 in Portland, Maine) is a former American swimmer. He is a three-time Olympic champion and former world record holder in the 100 m butterfly.
Career
Crocker, who specializes in the butterfly, has received five Olympic medals in his career. In addition to his accomplishments at the Olympics, Crocker was the first man to ever swim under 51 seconds in the 100 meter butterfly.[1] Crocker improved his world record of 50.98 twice, down to a time of 50.40[2] set at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, before being bested by Michael Phelps in 2009.[3] Crocker also won two golds and one silver at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, and two golds and one silver at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Crocker dove in too early on an exchange, causing the disqualification of the American team's 4x100 m medley relay.[4]
2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games
Crocker swam in two swimming events at the 2000 Summer Games.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Crocker was a member of the gold medal-winning 400 meter medley relay team[5] and barely missed winning a bronze in the 100 meter butterfly.[6]
2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games
Crocker swam in three swimming events at the 2004 Summer Games.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Crocker received a bronze medal as a member of the 400 meter freestyle relay team,[7] a silver medal in the 100 meter butterfly,[8] and a gold medal as a member of the world-record setting 400 meter medley relay team.[9] Of the three medals he won at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he is best remembered for his silver, as teammate Michael Phelps overtook him at the very end of the 100 meter butterfly to win the race by .04 seconds. Traditionally, the Olympian who places highest in an individual event will be automatically given the corresponding leg of the 4x100 m medley relay. This gave Phelps an automatic entry into the medley relay but he deferred and Crocker swam instead.[10] Crocker had made a mistake starting the 400 freestyle relay final, which cost the Americans gold, so Phelps' gesture gave Crocker a chance to make amends as well getting his final shot at a gold medal. Crocker and the American medley team went on to win the event in world record time, so Crocker finally got his gold medal. (Phelps received a gold medal as well, since he had swum in the preliminary heat of the medley relay).
2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games
Crocker swam in two swimming events at the 2008 Summer Games.
| Date (in Beijing) |
Event |
Results |
Time |
| August 16 |
100 m butterfly |
4th place |
51.13 |
Crocker competed in the his 3rd Olympics as a medal contender for his signature 100m Butterfly. Many felt Crocker's career was on a slide due to a poor showing in the Olympic trials and having not broken the 51 second barrier in over 12 months. Crocker finished in a tie for third in the semi-finals, behind Australia's Andrew Lauterstein. In the finals, he finished fourth behind teammate Phelps, Milorad Cavic, and Lauterstein, beating Kenyan swimmer Jason Dunford. He missed the medal stand by a hundredth of a second.[11] Despite not earning a medal in his signature event, Crocker was given the opportunity to swim for the 4x100 Medley relay B team. To his disappointment, Crocker did not get to swim in the finals nor stand on the podium, however he earned a gold medal for his contribution in the heats.
Retirement
Crocker has not officially made an announcement about his retirement after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games but he has since taken a break and started a swim school with Olympian and former Longhorn teammate Neil Walker and U.S. National Champion and former Longhorn teammate James Fike with locations in Austin and Dallas.
Personal bests
Personal bests
| Event |
Long course |
Short course |
| 50 m butterfly |
23.12 ‡ |
22.71 ‡ |
| 100 m butterfly |
50.40 |
49.07 |
| 50 m freestyle |
22.74 |
21.44 |
| 100 m freestyle |
49.06 |
46.25 ‡ |
Key: ‡ = American record
See also
References
External links
| Records |
Preceded by
 Michael Phelps |
Men's 100 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)
July 26, 2003 – July 09, 2009 |
Succeeded by
Michael Phelps |
Preceded by
 Milorad Čavić |
Men's 100 metre butterfly
world record holder (short course)
March 26, 2004 – November 07, 2009 |
Succeeded by
 Yevgeny Korotyshkin |
Preceded by
Alexander Popov |
Men's 100 metre freestyle
world record holder (short course)
March 27, 2004 – November 17, 2007 |
Succeeded by
 Stefan Nystrand |
Preceded by
 Matthew Welsh |
Men's 50 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)
February 29, 2004 – July 24, 2005 |
Succeeded by
 Roland Schoeman |
Preceded by
Geoff Huegill |
Men's 50 metre butterfly
world record holder (short course)
October 10, 2004 – December 17, 2005 |
Succeeded by
 Kaio de Almeida |
|
Olympic Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay |
|
1960 USA (McKinney, Hait, Larson, Farrell) | 1964 USA (Mann, Craig, Schmidt, Clark) | 1968 USA (Hickcox, McKenzie, Russell, Walsh) | 1972 USA (Stamm, Bruce, Spitz, Heidenreich) | 1976 USA (Naber, Hencken, Vogel, Montgomery) | 1980 Australia (Kerry, Evans, Tonelli, Brooks) | 1984 USA (Carey, Lundquist, Morales, Gaines) | 1988 USA (Berkoff, Schroeder, Biondi, Jacobs) | 1992 USA (Rouse, Diebel, Morales, Olsen) | 1996 USA (Rouse, Linn, Henderson, Hall, Jr.) | 2000 USA (Krayzelburg, Moses, Crocker, Hall, Jr.) | 2004 USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak) | 2008 USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Phelps, Lezak)
|
|
|
World Short Course Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay |
|
1993: United States (Schwenk, Wunderlich, Henderson, Olsen) • 1995: New Zealand (Winter, Kent, Callaghan, Bray) • 1997: Australia (Radley, Rogers, Huegill, Klim) • 1999: Australia (Welsh, Rogers, Klim, Fydler) • 2000: United States (Krayzelburg, Marrs, Walker, Tucker) • 2002: United States (Peirsol, Denniston, Marshall, Lezak) • 2004: United States (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak) • 2006: Australia (Welsh, Rickard, Pine, Callus) • 2008: Russia (Donets, Geybel, Korotyshkin, Sukhorukov)
|
|
|
Pan Pacific Champions in Men's 4×100 m Medley Relay |
|
1985: USA (Carey, Moffet, Morales, Biondi) • 1987: USA (Veatch, Schroeder, Morales, Biondi) • 1989: USA (Rouse, Korhammer, Morales, Biondi) • 1991: USA (Rouse, Barrowman, Henderson, Biondi) • 1993: USA (Rouse, Van Neerden, Henderson, Olsen) • 1995: USA (Rouse, Wunderlich, Henderson, Hall) • 1997: USA (Krayzelburg, Grote, Dusing, Walker) • 1999: USA (Krayzelburg, Grote, Wales, Walker) • 2002: USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Phelps, Lezak) • 2006: USA (Peirsol, Hansen, Crocker, Lezak)
|
|
