Archive Legends

The Day De Bruijn Launched A Bull Run Of World Records En Route To Triple Olympic Gold

Between May 26 and May 28, 2000, the Dutch sprinter established four of the eight world records she set between May and July that year en route to triple gold at Sydney 2000. The generation-busting times she clocked late in her career stand the test of time

by Craig Lord

published May 26, 2025

Today marks the 25th anniversary of two World records in a bull run of global standards set by Dutch sprinter Inge de Bruijn on her way to triple gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Here's what happened in Sheffield this week a quarter of a century ago:

26 May 2000 50m butterfly 25.64h Inge de Bruijn NED Sheffield
26 May 2000 50m freestyle 24.51=(h) Inge de Bruijn NED Sheffield
27 May 2000 100m butterfly 56.69 Inge de Bruijn NED Sheffield
28 May 2000 100m freestyle 53.80 Inge de Bruijn NED Sheffield

Those efforts, which wiped out standards by China's Le Jingji and American Jenny Thompson, rippled like shockwaves through world waters.

That 56.69 on 'fly would be followed by a 56.64 in July, at her last competition before a 56.61 WR for Olympic gold in September.

And that 56.61 and her other swims in her top four, including the 57.14 she clocked in Sydney 2000 semis, have stood the test of time in the all-time rankings:

All four were still No 1, 2, 3 and 9 on the all-time ranks heading into the second season of shiny suits in 2009. By the close of that ludicrous season of 100% non-textile materials, De Bruijn's best three had survived the onslaught but were now ranked 5th, 6th and 7th, but still No1, 2 and 3 in textile.
That remained the same in the first season of a shiny suit ban, from January 2010, while the advent of American Dana Vollmer in 2011, saw De Bruijn's top 3 swims slip to No 2, 3, 4 on the all-time textile ranking, After that, here's what happened to her 56.61 WR on the all-timer lists, all suits and textile:
2012-2013: 5th and 2nd; 2014: 6th and 3rd; 2015: 6th and 4th =; 2016: 8th and 6th; 2017: 9th and 7th; 2018: 10th and 8th; 2019 - the record finally falls out of the all-time No 10, all suits but in textile is still No9; 2020 - textile No 10.
And then in Olympic years 2021 (Tokyo 2020one), five Games cycles on, De Bruijn's 56.61 finally sunk below the all-time top 10 in textile, to No 12. Today, May 26, 2025, it remains in the all-time Top 20, at No 19 in textile.

That 56.61 would also rank 4th in the world this year so far, a quarter of a century later in a season that witnessed this pioneering moment: