Kolbrún Ýr Kristjánsdóttir (born November 11, 1982, in

Akranes Akranes () is a port town and municipality on the west coast of Iceland, around north of the capital Reykjavík. The area where Akranes is located was settled in the 9th century; however, it did not receive a municipal charter until 1942. His ...

) is a retired Icelandic swimmer, who specialized in backstroke and butterfly events. She is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and former Icelandic record holder in the same strokes (both 100 and 200 m). Kolbrún made her first Icelandic team, as a 17-year-old teen, at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. There, she failed to reach the semifinals in any of her individual events, finishing forty-third in the 100 m backstroke (1:07.28), and thirty-second in the 200 m backstroke (2:24.33). At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Kolbrún shortened her program on her second Olympic appearance, swimming only in the 100 m butterfly. She posted a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:02.07 from the

Games of the Small States of Europe The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small state, small states since 1985. The Games a ...

Valletta, Malta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital city, it is a commercial ...

. She challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including five-time Olympian

Mette Jacobsen Mette Jacobsen (born 24 March 1973 in Nakskov) is a former freestyle and butterfly swimmer from Denmark who competed in five consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, beginning in 1988. She won a total of 32 individual medals in inte ...

of Denmark. She edged out Hong Kong's

Sze Hang Yu Rosanna Sze Hang-yu () is an Olympic swimmer from Hong Kong and record holder of 9 Hong Kong Swimming Records, plus former holder of 16 HK records. She has broken Hong Kong records for 108 times across 19 years (2002-2021), showing her longevity ...

to pick up a sixth seed by 0.09 of a second in 1:02.33. Kolbrún failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed thirty-first overall on the first day of preliminaries.

References

1982 births Living people Kolbrún Ýr Kristjánsdóttir Kolbrún Ýr Kristjánsdóttir Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Kolbrún Ýr Kristjánsdóttir Kolbrún Ýr Kristjánsdóttir {{Iceland-swimming-bio-stub