Sept. 21, 2000
SYDNEY -- For the first time in three Olympic Games, Arizona State's Attila Czene of Hungary finished short of a medal in the 200 meter individual medley, missing by the slimmest of margins in Thursday's finals.
Czene, who captured bronze in 1992 and gold in 1996 in an Olympic-record time of 1:59.91, finished fourth in 2000 with a time of 2:01.16. Italy's Massimiliano Rosolino earned the gold medal with an Olympic-record time of 1:58.98. The United State's Tom Dolan and Tom Wilkens finished second (1:59.77) and third (2:00.87), respectively.
Earlier in the week, Czene swam the opening leg of Hungary's 800 freestyle relay team in 1:52.66. Hungary finished fifth in the first of two heats in 7:24.48. It was the tenth-fastest time, just short of qualifying for finals.
Swimming for ASU in March, Czene (Budapest, Hungary) earned the NCAA 200 IM title for the Sun Devils when he tied the short-course (25-meter) world record in 1:54.65, a mark originally set by Finland's Jani Sievenen in 1994.
In one season at ASU, Czene put his name on five top-ten lists. He has school records in the 200 butterfly (1:44.49) and 200 IM (1:42.72). He is second in the 200 free (1:35.20) and third in the 100 free (43.48) and 100 fly (47.67).
Other Sun Devils in the Olympics:
Abal, Pablo (Argentina) -- Placed sixth in fifth of eight heats of the 100 fly in 54.45. (Did Not Qualify for semi-finals). Abal swam at ASU from 1997-2000, receiving NCAA All-American honors all but his first year. He is the ASU record holder in the 100 back (47.85), and ranks fourth in the 50 free (19.93), seventh in the 200 back (1:48.77) and ninth in the 100 fly (48.48).
Adel, Carolyn (Suriname) -- Placed seventh in the third of four heats of the 400 IM in 4:57.90. (DNQ for finals). Placed third in the second of five heats of the 200 IM in 2:19.17. (DNQ for semi-finals). Adel swam at ASU from 1997-2000, receiving NCAA All-American honors all four years. She has ASU top-10 times in seven different events, including records in the 200 IM (2:00.29) and the 400 IM (4:13.05).
Delgado, Felipe (Ecuador) -- Placed seventh in the fifth of 10 heats of the 100 free in 52.78. (DNQ for semi-finals). Delgado swam at ASU from 1994-1997, receiving NCAA All-American honors all four years. He ranks third all-time in the 50 free (19.75) and fifth in the 100 free (43.75).
Delgado, Robert (Ecuador) -- Placed third in the first of six heats of the 200 fly in 2:08.18. (DNQ for semi-finals). Placed fifth in the second of eight heats of the 100 fly in 56.07. (DNQ for semi-finals). Delgado swam at ASU from 1996-1999. His collegiate best 200 fly time of 1:47.70 ranks seventh in the ASU record books.
Mesa-Rodriuez, Ivan (Panama) -- Placed sixth in the fifth of nine heats of the 100 breaststroke 1:04.68. (DNQ for semi-finals).
Sanchez, Francisco (Venezuela) -- Placed eighth in the sixth of 10 heats of the 100 freestyle in 52.43. (DNQ for semi-finals). Placed seventh in last of eight heats of the 100 fly in 54.56. (DNQ for semi-finals). Was entered in the heats of the 50 free, but did not compete. Sanchez swam at ASU from 1996-1999, receiving NCAA All-American honors all four years. In 1996, he became the first male Sun Devil swimmer to capture an NCAA title since 1983 (Mike Orn, 200 free) when he won the 50 free. Sanchez was named the Pac-10's Swimmer of the Year the same year. The ASU records in the 50 free (19.32), 100 free (42.82) and 100 fly (46.96) still bear his name.