Xeno R. Müller (born 7 August 1972) is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

and

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 bet ...

gold medallist.

Early career and university

His first international appearance was at the 1990

World Rowing Junior Championships The World Rowing U19 Championships, former name World Rowing Junior Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). A rower or coxswain shall be classified as a Junior until 31 Decemb ...

– winning bronze in his

single scull A single scull (or a scull), abbreviated as a 1x, is a racing shell designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-se ...

(1x). He first competed at the senior level in 1991, and at the age of 19, finished 11th at the

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international Rowing (sport), rowing regatta organized by International Rowing Federation, FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer ...

in Vienna in the single scull. At the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, he just missed making the finals, finishing fourth in the semi-finals (3 to advance). Müller chose not to start the petite (consolation) finals for places 7 through 12 because of a back injury. In 1994 and 1995, he finished 2nd and 6th, respectively, at the World Championships. During this period, Müller began studying at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in the United States. He helped lead Brown to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1993 in the eight-man boat. Following this collegiate victory and his subsequent disappointing finish at the 1993 World Championships in the double scull event, Müller decided to concentrate solely on the single scull. This decision created friction between Müller and the then coach at Brown

Steve Gladstone Stephen C. Gladstone is an American rowing coach and former college athletics administrator. He is the Head Coach for the Men's Heavyweight Crew Team at the United States Naval Academy. He was the head coach for the men's heavyweight crew team a ...

. In 1994 Müller was the first ever single sculler rowing the 2000 meters in a time way below 6.40. Müller showed a first dominating season in his single with winning the Overall FISA Rowing World Cup and World Cup Races in Paris with a time of 6.38, Lucerne with a new 'Rotsee' record also below 6.40 and the Diamond Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta. Only at the World Championships he was defeated by the German André Willms. After spending two years in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, attending Brown and rowing his single scull, Müller moved to

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

, which offered a better climate for year-round training. He also met his future wife in Newport.

Olympic debut

Müller won gold in the single scull at the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Müller won the race with a strong finish. He was 3 seconds down and in fourth place at the 1000 meter mark (half way) and he moved up to third and just 1 second down with 500 meters to go. Müller then launched a devastating drive to the line. He won decisively besting

Derek Porter Derek Nesbitt-Porter (born 2 November 1967) is a gold medal-winning Olympic rower from Canada. Early life and education He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and his father Hugh rowed for England at the 1958 British Empire and Commonweal ...

who had led the whole race, and his childhood hero, and two-time Olympic Champion

Thomas Lange Thomas Lange (born 27 February 1964) is a German rower who won two gold and one bronze Olympic medals in the single sculls. Lange is one of six rowers (along with Mahé Drysdale, Pertti Karppinen, Peter-Michael Kolbe, Ondřej Synek and Vya ...

who finished third. Müller's last 500 was the fastest 500 meter split time of the day. His time of 6:44.85 has been an Olympic record until

Tim Maeyens Tim Maeyens (born in Bruges, 23 August 1981) is a Belgian rower who competes primarily in the single scull. He competed at three Olympic Games. He started rowing at the age of nine and rows for the Royal Rowing Association of Bruges. In 1999, ...

of Belgium finished his heat at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in a time of 6:42.52.

1998 season onwards

Following his Olympic victory, Müller took a year off from rowing. In 1998, he won two World Cup race besting future rival

Rob Waddell Robert Norman Waddell (born 7 January 1975) is a New Zealand Olympic Gold Medalist and double World Champion Single sculler rower, and America's Cup yachtsman. He is a triple New Zealand Supreme 'Halberg Awards' Sportsperson of the year winner ...

. But at the World Rowing Championships, Waddell had the best race of his life pushing Müller back to second. In the pre-season to the 1998 rowing calendar, Waddell set a world record on the

indoor rowing Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

machine. In 1999, Waddell went on to sweep the World Cup races and the World Championships, Müller getting second each time. Leading up to the

2000 Sydney 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 ...

, Müller entered World Cup race in Vienna, where he finally beat Waddell after four consecutive second-place finishes. Müller did not enter any other preliminary races, and Waddell won the World Cup race in Lucerne. Between the 1996 Olympics and the 2000 Olympics, Müller's record against Waddell was 3 out of 7. Both Waddell and Müller won all of their preliminary heats leading up to the Olympic finals. In the finals, in addition to his rival two-time reigning World Champion

, Müller faced former World Champion and Olympic silver medalist

and rising star

Marcel Hacker Marcel Hacker (born 29 April 1977, in Magdeburg) is a German rower. Career Hacker won an Olympic bronze medal in 2000 in Sydney and became a world champion in 2002 in Seville. In 2004, he won the Diamond Challenge Sculls for the ...

. It was the closest men's single scull final ever. They battled down the course with the lead changing several times. Müller gained the lead in the last 1000 meters, but Waddell stayed with him. Gradually, Waddell wore Müller down, passing him in the sprint. Despite having a chest cold, Müller held on for the silver medal. Hacker finished third and a disappointed Porter finished fourth. Just over two seconds – the length of a boat – separated first from fourth place.

Retirement and career

Having lived in the United States since 1992 (and attending

) Müller became a

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

of the United States in early 2004. He then announced he would trial for the US team for the Athens Olympics. He had won all of the preliminary trial races. However, just before the start of the final set of trials, there were a number of high-profile killings of foreigners in Iraq as part of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, and Americans were believed to be potential targets for violence at the Olympics by

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

. Müller pulled out of the trials, saying:

When you have three children and a wife and you leave them, then leave them again to go overseas, and you see somebody's head getting cut off ... you start having clouds in your head for why you want to proceed like this, with all the responsibility about traveling, leaving the family, etcetera.

He is married and has four children.

Achievements

medals: 1 gold, 1 silver *

World Championship 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 ...

medals: 3 silver * Junior World Championship medals: 1 bronze

Olympic Games

*2000 – Silver, single sculls *1996 – Gold, single sculls *1992 – 12th (DNS petite finals), single sculls

World Championships

*2001 – 5th, single sculls *1999 – Silver, single sculls *1998 – Silver, single sculls *1995 – 6th, single sculls *1994 – Silver, single sculls *1993 – 8th, double sculls *1991 – 11th, single sculls

Junior World Championships

*1990 – Bronze, single sculls

US collegiate rowing

*1993 – 1st, Varsity 8+ (Brown)

Eastern Sprints The Eastern Sprints is the annual rowing championship for the men's Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) in Northeast USA. Participants The teams include all of the Ivy League schools as well as others such as Georgetown University, Sy ...

*1993 – 1st, Varsity 8+ (Brown) Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship *1993 – 1st, Varsity 8+ (Brown)

National Collegiate Rowing Championship The now defunct, short-lived National Collegiate Rowing Championship, often simply called the "Cincinnati Regatta," was a championship for men's and women's collegiate rowing, held in Cincinnati, Ohio, between 1982 and 1996. It pitted the winners o ...

*1992 – 1st, Freshman 8+ (Brown)

*1992 – 1st, Freshman 8+ (Brown) Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship

Henley Royal Regatta

*1993 – 1st,

Ladies' Challenge Plate The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standa ...

8+ (Brown University) *1994 – 1st,

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowin ...

References

External links

Elite Rowing Coach
– Xeno's rowing technique website & Blog * * *
Video of 1996 Olympic race

Video of 2000 Olympic race
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Xeno 1972 births Living people Swiss male rowers Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Switzerland Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Olympic silver medalists for Switzerland Olympic medalists in rowing Brown University alumni Swiss emigrants to the United States Rowers from Zurich World Rowing Championships medalists for Switzerland