Mehdi Addadi
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mehdi Addadi | |||||||||||||||||
| National team |  butterfly | |||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Maryland, Baltimore County (U.S.) | |||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Chad Cradock (U.S.) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mehdi Addadi (
.While studying in the United States, Addadi was named 2001 Most Valuable Swimmer at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships, and 2002 Most Outstanding Swimmer by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also played for the university's swimming and diving team, under head coach Chad Cradock.
Career
Early years
Addadi was born in
Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. Fluent only in Arabic and French, he credited Bolles as a primary institution to learn English, and also, a training ground to prepare for college career.[2] During his short stay, Addadi trained under Gregg Troy, a coach who produced numerous top-class swimmers including Ryan Lochte.[3]
Addadi attended the
Baltimore, Maryland, where he played for the UMBC Retrievers swimming and diving team under head coach Chad Cradock.[4][5] Serving as the team captain, he held the school's records in the 100-yard backstroke (48.85), 200-yard backstroke (1:49.29), and 100-yard butterfly (48.67), and later became a prizewinner of four different records in both freestyle and medley relays.[5] In his senior season, Addadi was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Year at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships after breaking a school record in the 100-yard butterfly. In the spring of 2002, Addadi graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in financial economics.[2][5]
International career
In 1999, Addadi attended the
Johannesburg, South Africa. He broke the host nation's stranglehold after winning the 100 m backstroke title in 58.28, edging out Seychelles' Benjamin Lo-Pinto by almost a full body length.[6] He also added a bronze to his hardware in the 100 m butterfly at 56.30, finishing just outside a top two finish from the South Africans.[citation needed
]
At the
FINA B-standard.[7][8] On the second day of the Games, Addadi placed forty-sixth in the 100 m backstroke. Swimming in heat two, he raced to a sixth seed in 58.74, just a 1.62-second deficit off a winning time set by South Korea's Sung Min.[9][10] Five days later, in the 100 m butterfly, Addadi challenged seven other swimmers in the same heat, including Guam's 28-year-old Daniel O'Keeffe and Bosnia's three-time Olympian Janko Gojković. He held off a fast-pacing O'Keeffe by a hundredth of a second (0.01) to snatch a third spot and forty-fourth overall in an Algerian record of 56.04.[11]
References
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mehdi Addadi". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ a b Zrebiec, Jeff (27 February 2002). "Churning UMBC waters". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- Bolles School. Archived from the originalon 11 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ "UMBC Men's Swimming Outlook". UMBC Retrievers. 2002–2003. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ a b c Aissi, Youcef. "Home Grown Champion Swimmer" (PDF). Algerian-American Association of Greater Washington. p. 3. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- Independent Online (South Africa). 17 September 1999. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- )
- ) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.