The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2015
Sport: Swimming
Position: Breaststroke (2001-04)
Inducted: 2015
Hometown: Haverford Twp., Penn.
A three-time Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder and 13-time NCAA champion who helped Texas to two NCAA team titles, Brendan Hansen (2001-04) made his mark as America's premier breaststroke swimmer of his generation. Hansen, one of five Texas swimmers to compete in three Olympiads for the United States, remains the only men's swimmer to sweep the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events at four consecutive NCAA Championship meets. He set NCAA and NCAA Championship meet records in the 100-yard (51.96) and 200-yard (1:52.62) breaststroke events at the 2003 NCAA Championships. Hansen finished his collegiate career with eight NCAA individual titles and five NCAA relay crowns. He helped Texas to NCAA team titles during his freshman and sophomore seasons (2001 & 2002). Hansen's longevity made him a mainstay on Team USA's medley relays for the better part of a decade at Olympics and World Championship meets. He won his first Olympic gold medal on the USA's 400m medley relay at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he added silver in the 100m breaststroke and bronze in the 200m breaststroke. He set his first world records that same year in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events prior to the Olympic Games. In 2005, Hansen won his second consecutive world championship in the 400m medley relay and added world titles in the 100m and 200m breaststroke. Hansen rewrote his own world records in the 100m and 200m breaststroke three times in a 20-day span in 2006. He won gold in both events at the year's premier international swimming event, the Pan Pacific Championships. He won his fifth individual world championship in 2007 (100m breast) before making his second U.S. Olympic team in 2008. At the 2008 Beijing Games, Hansen won his second Olympic gold medal in the 400m medley relay. He retired after the 2008 games before returning to competitive swimming in 2011 and qualifying for a third Olympics a year later. He won his third gold medal in the 400m medley relay at the 2012 London Olympics, where he also won bronze in the 100m breaststroke. Hansen earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from UT in 2005. Today, he is a general manager of aquatics operations for Austin Aquatics and Sports Academy and head coach of Austin Swim Club. He also serves as a color analyst for Longhorn Network swimming telecasts. Brendan and his wife, Martha, live in Austin with their daughters, Charlotte and Annie.
