Johan Kenkhuis (born 7 May 1980 in
Vriezenveen,
Overijssel) is an
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
medal winning
Dutch
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* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
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People E ...
swimmer.
From a young age, Kenkhuis had a strong interest in swimming. In 1998, he won gold medals in both the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events in the European Junior Championships. At the
2000 Olympic Games in
Sydney,
Australia, Johan was a member of the bronze medal
4×200 meter freestyle relay team. He also helped the
Netherlands
)
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, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
win a silver medal at the
FINA World Championships
The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming events a ...
in
Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...
,
Japan in 2001 as a member of the
4×100 meter freestyle relay team.
However, by 2002, he was growing tired of the sport and close to retirement. His coach, Fedor Hes, helped him develop a different training strategy which involved spending more time on dry land. Seemingly invigorated by the new training style, Johan quickly progressed enough to win fourth place at the
50 meter freestyle event in the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain. He finished only 0.01 seconds behind the bronze medalist.
In the
2004 Olympic Games
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, Johan was a member of the Dutch Olympic swim team. As the starting swimmer in the
4×100 meter freestyle relay, alongside
Pieter van den Hoogenband
Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband (; born 14 March 1978) is a Dutch retired swimmer. He is a triple Olympic champion and former world record holder.
Early life
Born in Maastricht, Limburg, he is the son of Cees-Rein van den Hoogenban ...
,
Mitja Zastrow, and
Klaas-Erik Zwering he played a critical role in securing a silver medal in the event.
Kenkhuis is currently living in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
where he is a member of
De Dolfijn SPAX swim club but trains with
XLence Swimteam. He is a Business and Marketing major at the
Johan Cruyff University in Amsterdam.
Kenkhuis was one of only eleven
openly gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
athletes to participate in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
In November 2006 he announced that he would quit swimming on the highest level after the 2006 European Championships Short Course in
Helsinki, Finland.
See also
*
Dutch records in swimming
Below is the complete list of the Dutch records in swimming, which are ratified by the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation (KNZB).
Long course (50 m) Men
Women
Mixed relay
Short course (25 ...
*
Gay athletes
References
External links
Zwemkroniek Online ProfileXLence Swimteam Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenkhuis, Johan
1980 births
Living people
Dutch LGBT sportspeople
Dutch male freestyle swimmers
Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands
Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands
Olympic swimmers of the Netherlands
People from Vriezenveen
Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Gay sportsmen
LGBT swimmers
Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists in swimming
Sportspeople from Overijssel
21st-century Dutch people