Penny Heyns Biography

Heyns' Career Highlights<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

• Two-time Olympic gold medalist; Three-time medalist
• First Woman in Olympic history to sweep the breaststroke events
• First athlete to win a gold medal for South Africa since 1956
• Olympic record holder, 100 & 200-meter breaststroke
•  1996 Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year
• 1996 Big Eight Female Athlete of the Year
• 10-time First-Team NCAA All-American
• Five-time honorable-mention NCAA All-American
• First Husker swimmer to win a National Championship (100-yard breaststroke, 1:00.27, 1996)
• 14-time Big Eight Conference Champion
• Three-time Pan Pacific Champion

Heyns' World Records

50-meter breaststroke (long course): 30.83

100-meter breaststroke (long course): 1:06.52

200-meter breaststroke (long course): 2:23.64

100-meter breaststroke (short course): 1:05.57

 

It's not every day you run across a golden penny.

 

But for South Africans and Nebraskans alike, there was one shining bright at the 1996 Olympic Games in <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Atlanta. 

 

Penny Heyns, a former University of Nebraska standout, earned two gold medals and became the first female in Olympic history to sweep the breaststroke events.

 

Heyns' whirlwind year of success began on the collegiate level.  In Husker suit and cap at the 1996 Big Eight Championships in mid-February, Heyns set a then-NCAA and U.S. Open record in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.90), as well as an NU record in the 100-yard event (1:00.18) to help Nebraska win its third consecutive conference crown.

 

After setting the records, Heyns was forced to travel home for the South African Olympic Trials, which were inconveniently scheduled between the two most important collegiate meets, the conference and national championships.

 

Nevertheless, it proved to be a trip Heyns would never forget. 

 

During the preliminary heat of the 100-meter breaststroke at the trials, Heyns set a world record with a time of 1:07.46. 

 

The time broke the record held by Australia's Samantha Riley, who had set a mark of 1:07.69 in September, 1994. 

 

Just days after her return from South Africa, Heyns became the first Husker to win a national championship at the NCAA Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. 

 

Heyns dominated the 100-yard breaststroke, winning in a pool-record time of 1:00.27 and also earned a silver medal in the 200-yard breaststroke with a 2:09.71 performance.

 

Heyns then entered the Olympics as the frontrunner in the 100-meter breaststroke event.  She proved she had earned that title in the preliminaries as she blew away the competition, shattering her own world record with a time of 1:07.02 in the process. 

 

In the finals, Heyns got off to a quick start, but didn't dominate as she had in the prelims.  America's Amanda Beard began her trademark kick at the 50-meter mark and almost caught Heyns at the wall.  Heyns held on to finish in 1:07.72 and edged Beard (1:08.09), to claim gold for the first time.

 

Two days later, Heyns proved she wasn't finished.

 

After setting an Olympic record of 2:26.63 in the preliminaries of the 200-meter breaststroke, Heyns was timed at 2:25.41 in the finals and again beat out Beard (2:25.75) for the gold.  Beard entered the Olympics ranked No. 1 in the 200, but couldn't catch up with the quick pace Heyns set from the start.

 

"That was one of the hardest races I ever swam," Heyns said following the race.  "I'm just glad I had the guts to hang in there."

 

At a press conference in Lincoln, Neb., the week following her gold medal performances, Heyns admitted she was surprised about the win in the 200. 

 

"In some ways, I sit back, and I really can't believe it," Heyns said.  "The 200 (win) was totally unexpected.  I don't think it has sunk in yet."

 

An extremely successful career at Nebraska fine-tuned Heyns for Olympic success.  A 15-time All-American and 14-time conference champion for the Huskers, Heyns left Nebraska as the most decorated swimmer in the program's history.  Heyns' accomplishments at Nebraska and on the international level will always be recognized.

 

Heyns has continually showed her appreciation for the University of Nebraska and its athletic department.

 

Following her double gold medal performance, Heyns didn't waste any time in thanking the Nebraska Swimming and Diving Program and its support staff for the role they played in her Olympic success.

 

"There is no way I would even be swimming today if I didn't come to Nebraska," Heyns said. "Nebraska has done so much for me that I could never express it.  It's not just swimming, it's a family to me -- the whole coaching staff and all my friends."

 

Over the past four years Heyns has continued to define excellence in the sport of swimming on a world class level by producing one of the greatest performances in the history of the sport.

 

At the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships, Heyns established three world records.  Winning gold in both the 100- and 200-meter breaststrokes, Heyns touched the wall in times of 1:06.52 and 2:23.64, respectively, both world bests.  In addition, she swam an exihibition 50-meter breaststroke, recording another world record with a time of 30.83.

 

Heyns took home her third medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, a bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke, touching the wall in 1:07.55.

 

As Heyns begins another chapter in her storybook career, you can bet that this golden Penny will continue to shine well into the 21st century.