flying dutchman, The

Swimming World and Junior Swimmer, Nov 1999 by Lord, Craig

GELDROP, The Netherlands-It's still 10 months until Sydney 2000, but the battle scene is already set. And the aquatic weaponry awaiting Holland's Pieter van den Hoogenband in Australia would surely strike fear in the heart of a lesser man.

To one side of the "Flying Dutchman" is the Canberra-trained "Russian Rocket," Alexander Popov, and his training partner, Michael Klim. To the other side is "The Thorpedo," Ian Thorpe, and his Aussie teammate, Grant "The Machine" Hackett.

Will any man have a harder task in Sydney? If anything, he has several unenviable choices:

Does the six-time European champion focus on a rematch with a living legend who will defend his Olympic sprint titles a second time with the cold driving force of revenge coursing through his veins?

Does he opt for the 200 meter freestyle, a pincer movement of manmachine and the home boy in Homebush, the big-footed favorite whose physique and technique have propelled him into unchartered waters in the 200 and 400 meter freestyle?

Does he go for broke in all three events-the 50, 100 and 200?

"We've not thought about that yet," said Pieter the Great, back in the temperate comfort of his home in Geldrop outside Eindhoven in the southern part of Holland, far from the madding European Championship media crowds of Istanbul. Here was an opportunity for Hoogie-as he was dubbed by Swimming World in Turkey-to rest for one last weekend before returning to training with Coach Jacco Verhaeren for a steady build-up to the one thing on his mind: Sydney 2000.

Analyzing the Competition

Does he now rate Popov an easier target than Thorpe?

"No, no-it's one of the last big meets Alex will ever do, maybe, and he desperately wants to win the gold in the 100 free," said the Dutchman who beat Popov with a 48.47 in Turkey.

"He's going to work really hard," added the new champion. "It's going to be tough. There are a lot of other guys who will be very fast, too."

Of Thorpe, he says: "He's an amazing swimmer-the biggest talent I've ever seen.. big feet, yeah, but there's the technique also. I think I can go a 1:46, but he is really amazing."

Then, so, too, is van den Hoogenband, 21, a medical student from Maastricht, a town standing at the dizzying height-by Dutch standards-of some 230 feet above sea level, located at the southern tip of Holland on the Belgian border about 70 miles east of Brussels. His performances at the European Championships must go down as among the finest in the sport's history-he became the first Dutchman to win a European freestyle title since 1962, and he now ranks alongside Michael Gross and Franziska van Almsick with six titles to their credit at one European championship.

Perhaps his most impressive victory in Istanbul came in the 100 free where he clocked 48.47-faster than Popov or Matt Biondi had ever swum in pursuit of a major championship title, albeit 26-hundredths shy of Popov's world record and 5-hundredths shy of Biondi at his best during the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1988.

Pieter's 22.06 win in the 50 was the second-fastest championship win ever, while his 200 title (1:47.09) was the sixth fastest-but that was from a man saturated by racing and competing in windy, hot outdoor conditions that cannot be compared to the comparative luxury of the Sydney 2000 pool enjoyed by those swimmers at the Pan Pacs.

A hint of how fast Pieter can go came from his relay splits of 47.20 and 1:45.20-the fastest ever.

A Warm, yet Hectic Homecoming

Little wonder that half the town turned out to greet the new national treasure's return from Istanbul in a homecoming heavy with a sense of relief-the champion had stayed in Turkey on vacation with his girlfriend, former swimmer Minouche Smit, and the couple was there when the earthquake that killed tens of thousands had struck. Fortunately, Pieter and Minouche were not hurt. The couple were at a coastal resort away from the distaster zone when the quake struck along the Anatolian fault.

But the scale of the catastrophe made the champion's return home all the more hectic than it was already destined to be. "It was pretty busy-with interviews, TV performances. I did a phone-in program about Turkey and what happened there. It was interesting. I enjoyed it."

Pieter, a likeable man whose polite and easy manners compare with those of the popular Popov, was paraded through the streets of Eindhoven on his way to a civic reception at the town hall. It was a dream come true for a talent who describes his boyhood persona as that of a "dreamer," albeit one with a strong sense of self-discipline and a healthy work ethic-a sort of cross between the extremes of Popov and Gary Hall, Jr.

Could Pieter identify himself as the man in the middle? "Yes, that's me."

The remark is not flippant. His respect for rivals is praiseworthy and doubtless useful to the competitor in Pieter. It comes across most forcibly when he speaks of Popov: "I have great respect for the swimmer who is Alexander Popov. He is a phenomenon. Not to be beaten over 100 meters in eight years is pretty special. And he's a nice person.