Juan Pablo Valdivieso (born February 27, 1981) is a Peruvian former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events.[2] Valdivieso holds a dual citizenship between his parents' nation Peru and the United States, where he currently resides. He is also influenced by his grandfather Juan Valdivieso, who played for Peru's soccer team at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[1]

Juan Pablo Valdivieso
Personal information
Full nameJuan Pablo Valdivieso
National team Peru
Born (1981-02-27) 27 February 1981 (age 43)
Washington, DC, United States
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesButterfly
ClubCarderock Springs Swim Club (U.S.)[1]
College teamPrinceton University (U.S.)
CoachRick Curl (U.S.)[1]

Valdivieso started swimming for the Carderock Swim Team at the age of five. During his teenage years, he tried out for the South American Junior Championships, before competing at the U.S. senior nationals. In 1999, he graduated from Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland, and deferred his acceptance to Princeton University for a year, so that he could train for his first Olympics.[1][3]

Valdivieso made his first Peruvian team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Swimming in heat two of the men's 200 m butterfly, he edged out Thailand's Dulyarit Phuangthong to earn a fourth spot and thirty-sixth overall by 0.48 of a second in 2:03.67.[1][4]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Valdivieso extended his program, competing in two individual events. He achieved a FINA A-cut of 2:00.03 (200 m butterfly) from the USA National Championships in College Park, Maryland.[1][5][6] In the 200 m butterfly, he challenged seven other swimmers in heat four, including top medal favorite Takashi Yamamoto of Japan. He rounded out the field to last place and twenty-eighth overall by 0.90 of a second behind Hungary's Dávid Kolozár in 2:02.79.[7][8] In the 100 m butterfly, Valdivieso placed forty-seventh on the morning's preliminaries. Swimming in heat three, he saved a seventh spot over Algeria's Aghiles Slimani by 0.24 of a second with a time of 55.98.[9][10]

Between his two Olympic stints, Valdivieso attended Princeton University in New Jersey, where he majored in political economy and became a captain of the swimming team for the Princeton Tigers.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Bethesda Man Heads for Olympics". The Connection Newspaper. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Juan Pablo Valdivieso". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  3. ^ Stevens, Ruth (10 September 2000). "Swimmer delays start of school to represent Peru in Olympics". The Princeton Bulletin. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Butterfly Heat 3" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 216. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Swimming – Men's 200m Butterfly Startlist (Heat 4)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Ivies Shine In Water". Ivy League Sports. 8 August 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2013.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Men's 200m Butterfly Heat 4". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 16 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  8. ^ Thomas, Stephen (16 August 2004). "Men's 200 Butterfly, Prelims Day 3: Michael Phelps and Japan's Yamamoto Tie As Fastest Qualifiers; Tom Malchow will be there too". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Men's 100m Butterfly Heat 3". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 19 August 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  10. ^ Thomas, Stephen (19 August 2004). "Men's 100 Butterfly, Day 6 Prelims: Crocker Blasts Back into Form as Fastest Qualifier; Serdinov and Phelps Right on his Tail". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.