Benedict "Ben" Hesen (born February 15, 1986) is an American swimmer from
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...
. He is the son of Ben and Cheryl Hesen, and has one brother. He attended
Jeffersonville High School
Jeffersonville High School is a public high school located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 from Jeffersonville, Utica, and sections of Clarksville not covered by that town's own high school. The sc ...
and grew up swimming for Keith Gast at Pacesetter Aquatics. He was a member of the U.S. National Team in the 100M backstroke.
Career
Prep
Swimming started at an early age for Hesen, who began taking lessons at the age of five. Quickly escalating into a full-time commitment, he was passionate about swimming, but never saw much opportunity in it until a meteoric rise between his freshman and sophomore year at
Jeffersonville High School
Jeffersonville High School is a public high school located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 from Jeffersonville, Utica, and sections of Clarksville not covered by that town's own high school. The sc ...
in Indiana.
Eventually, he ended up winning three straight
Indiana High School Athletic Association
The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana ...
(IHSAA) state championships in the 100-yard backstroke from 2002 to 2004 as well as the 100-yard butterfly at the 2004 IHSAA State Championships. He was also a 2002, 2003 and 2004 NISCA All-American in the 100 backstroke. Upon graduation, he was regarded as one of the nation's top high school backstrokers.
Indiana University
2005–2006
During his sophomore year at Indiana University, Hesen tied for fourth in the 100 back at NCAAs and claimed a trio of All-America certificates during the
NCAA Championships
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, including ninth-place finishes on both the 200 medley and 400 medley relays. The ninth-place effort in the 400 medley was the best for IU since 1980. He was a member of the school and meet record setting
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
champion 200-yard medley relay unit. He helped set the school record in the 400-yard medley relay with a second-place effort at Big Tens and eclipsed the school record in the 100 back with his lead leg of 46.44 in the 400-yard medley. He earned Big Ten Swimmer of the Week once and concluded the season among IU's all-time top 20 in the 100 back (first), 200 back (fifth) and 100 fly (fifth).
2006–2007
During his junior year, Hesen finished second at the NCAA Championships in the 100 back with a school-record time of 45.45 and took eighth in the 200 back to become the first IU swimmer since 1979 to reach the finals of two individual events at NCAAs. He earned first team All-America honors in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke and honorable mention accolades in both medley relays. He won the Big Ten championship in the 100 back, doing so in league-record time (45.52). He earned All-Big Ten first team honors, led Indiana with 24 event wins on the season, was named CollegeSwimming.com's National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 1, and went undefeated in the 100 back during the regular season. He placed third in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2007 U.S. National Championships, earning a spot on the U.S. National Team.
2007–2008
Hesen set an American record at the 2008 US Olympic Trials in the
50 meter backstroke by going 24.70 for the 50 split of a 100 backstroke time trial. He won the NCAA Championship in the 100 backstroke with a school-record time of 44.72. His win is the first NCAA swimming title for the Hoosiers since
Jim Montgomery captured the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle in 1976. He earned Indiana Male Athlete of the Year award. He was named co-Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and Swimmer of the Championships after taking league titles in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 200 medley relay (1:25.85). At the
BIG TEN Championships at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, He took the 100 backstroke title in a time of 45.92, breaking the Canham Natatorium record of 46.48 set by
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
in 2005. He earned first team All-Big Ten and was the first IU swimmer to win three individual swimming titles since Chuck Sharpe in 1980.
2014–present
Hesen is now a fireman with the Jeffersonville Fire Department.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesen, Ben
1986 births
Living people
American male backstroke swimmers
Indiana University alumni
People from Jeffersonville, Indiana
Sportspeople from the Louisville metropolitan area
Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky