Geoffrey Andrew Huegill: Australia’s butterfly swimming specialist
Australian Geoffrey Andrew Huegill is an Olympic, World, Pan Pacific and Commonwealth Games medalist. Nicknamed ‘Skippy’, he was part of the Australian swimming team from 1997 to 2004 and then again in 2010. He has won 28 medals throughout his amazing career.
Huegill is considered by many to be one of the top butterfly swimmers in the world.
Huegill won his first international gold medal in the 4*100m medley relay and first international silver medal in the 100m butterfly at the 1997 World Championships.
The Australian picked his second gold medal in the 1998 Perth World Championships, where he participated in the same events, and won a gold medal in the 4*100m medley relay being a part of Australian swimming team, but this time a bronze medal in the 100m
butterfly. In the Commonwealth Games of the same year, he participated in the same events, representing Australia and managed gold medals in both the events.
Huegill’s brilliant performance enabled him to secure a silver medal in the 100m butterfly at the 1999 Sydney Pan Pacific Championships.
Then in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Huegill, being a top Australian butterfly swimmer, secured a spot in the medley relay team and won a silver medal in the 4*100m medley relay team and a bronze medal in his main event.
In the 2001 Goodwill Games, Huegill participated in an additional event, competing in three events for the first time in any championship and won two gold medals in the 50m butterfly and the 4*100m medley relay. He also won silver in the 100m butterfly.
At the 2001 Fukuoka World Championships, Huegill again participated in three events, the 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly and 4*100m medley relay. He broke the first world record of his amazing career, finishing the 50m butterfly in 23.76. Huegill also won
gold in the medley relay whereas he finished third in the 100m butterfly.
In 2002, at the Moscow World Championships, Huegill participated in the same events, this time winning a gold medal in the 50m butterfly and the 100m butterfly. He took the silver medal in the 4*100m medley relay. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Huegill
participated in the same events and lowered the Commonwealth record for the 50m butterfly and the 100m butterfly, as he also won the 4*100m medley relay in these Games.
Later that same year, at the Pan Pacific Championships, Huegill’s performance began to slip, as he managed to score silver in the 100m butterfly and the 4*100m medley relay event.
With the continuity of a bad patch in his performance at 2003 World Aquatics Championships, Huegill finished fourth in the 50m butterfly with his previous record timing of 23.76 and was placed thirteenth in the 100m butterfly with a time of 53.13.
The same down-turn in his performance continued at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where Huegill showed little improvement in his time, but still finished eighth in the 100m butterfly with a timing of 52.56.
Huegill tried hard to be a part of the Australian swimming team in 2005 and 2006, but with the emergence of new young talent, he found it difficult and was not selected.
In 2008, Huegill announced his come-back to competitive swimming and declared to prepare himself for the 50m and the 100m butterfly. He then represented Australia at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, where he stood first for the 100m butterfly and the 4*100m
medley relay and second for the 50m butterfly.
After his successful come-back, Huegill now aims to find a spot in the Australian team for the 2012 London Olympics, which would be his third Olympics. Huegill’s performance has earned him the respect and admiration of many of the world’s top swimmers. His
amazing achievements have given him the reputation of being a true butterfly specialist.
Tags: