Lyndon Ferns
Personal information
Nationality South Africa
Born (1983-09-24) 24 September 1983
Pietersburg (now Polokwane), South Africa
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight198 lb (90 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesSprint Freestyle / Butterfly
ClubFord Aquatics
College teamArizona Wildcats (USA)
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  South Africa
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens 4×100 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne4×100 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Bronze medal – third place2010 Irvine4×100 m freestyle

Lyndon Ferns (born 24 September 1983 in Pietersburg, South Africa)[1] is a retired Olympic gold-medalist and former world record swimmer from South Africa. He swam for South Africa at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.[2]

At the 2004 Olympics, he was a member of South Africa's Men's 4×100 m freestyle relay that won the event in a world record. Three of the team were a part of the relay that broke the record and won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

During the 2007 World Championships held in Melbourne, Australia, Lyndon became the first man out of Africa to complete the 100m butterfly in under 52 seconds, touching the wall in 51.90 seconds and with that breaking his own African record. He was also part of the 4 × 100 m freestyle and 4 × 100 m medley relay, both placing fourth.

Lyndon also competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where he set the African record in the 100m freestyle at 48.00, earning a sixth place in the finals. He also competed in the 100m butterfly, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay.

In May 2009, it was announced that he was part of South Africa's team to the 2009 World Championships. At the 2009 World Championships, Lyndon became the first male athlete from Africa, to complete the 100m freestyle in under 48 seconds, setting the African record at 47.79 seconds. He is still the only man from Africa to have completed the 100m freestyle in a sub 48 second swim.[3] He is the holder of the following records: (Updated July 2014)

In April 2011, Lyndon retired from competitive swimming.

College

He attended the University of Arizona,[4] where he competed at the NCAA level for his four years of eligibility under the tutelage of former-Olympian, world-renowned sprint coach, Rick DeMont. Lyndon completed his eligibility as a 24-time All-American, NCAA record holder, 3-time relay national champion as well as national champion in the 100y butterfly. Lyndon now lives in South Africa.

Personal bests

Event Time Date
50 lcm Freestyle22.22April 2008
100 lcm Freestyle47.79July 2009
100 lcm Butterfly51.69June 2009
Event Time Date
50 scm Freestyle21.28July 2006
50 scm Butterfly22.83July 2006
100 scm Freestyle46.00October 2009
100 scm Butterfly50.17November 2009
Event Time Date
50 y Freestyle19.22December 2003
100 y Freestyle42.34March 2005
100 y Butterfly45.89March 2006

Affiliations

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ferns' result page". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  2. 1 2 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lyndon Ferns". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  3. ↑ "SA swim squad announced". sport24.com.za. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  4. ↑ "Ferns' bio page". University of Arizona Athletics website. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.