de Bruijn, Inge (1973– )

Dutch swimmer. Specializing in the 50-metre and 100-metre freestyle and the 100-metre butterfly events, she broke three world records and tied another in her build-up to the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. At the Sydney Games, she won the 100-metre butterfly gold medal in 56.61 seconds and in doing so lowered the world record for the third time in 2000. She also won the gold medal in both the 100-metre freestyle and 50-metre freestyle events, and contributed to a silver team medal in the 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, she won another four medals including gold in the 50-metre freestyle.

Career highlights

Olympic Games gold 50-metre freestyle 2000, 2004; gold 100-metre freestyle 2000; gold 100-metre butterfly 2000; silver 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay 2000; silver 100-metre freestyle 2004; bronze 100-metre butterfly 2004; bronze 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay 2004

World Championships gold 50-metre freestyle 2001, 2003; gold 100-metre freestyle 2001; gold 50-metre butterfly 2001, 2003; bronze 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay 1991

World Short Course Championships gold 50-metre freestyle 1999; silver 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay 1999; bronze 50-metre butterfly 1999

European Championships gold 50-metre freestyle 1999; gold 100-metre butterfly 1999; gold 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay 1991; silver 100-metre freestyle 1999; silver 100-metre butterfly 1991; bronze 50-metre freestyle 1991, 1993; bronze 4 × 100-metre medley relay 1991

European Short Course Championships gold 50-metre freestyle 1998, 2001; gold 100-metre freestyle 2001; gold 50-metre butterfly 1998; silver 4 × 50-metre freestyle relay 1998, 2001; bronze 100-metre butterfly 1998; bronze 4 × 50-metre medley relay 1998, 2001

Awards

World Swimmer of the Year 2000, 2001

At the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, she won gold medals in the 50-metre freestyle, 100-metre freestyle, and 50-metre butterfly events and she retained her two 50-metre titles in the 2003 World Championships.

De Bruijn qualified for the 1996 Olympic Games, but decided not to go because she had lost all motivation and desire to swim. De Bruijn, who finished ninth in the 100-metre butterfly event at the 1992 Olympics, said that staying home in 1996 was the biggest mistake of her life.