Mitja Zastrow
Encyclopedia
Mitja Kolia Zastrow (born March 7, 1977) is a Dutch
swimmer and an Olympic
medalist. Originally from Germany
, Zastrow was born and raised in Wuppertal
, near Düsseldorf
. He became a naturalized Dutch citizen in July 2003, after a conflict with the German Swimming Association. He currently trains at PSV Eindhoven in Eindhoven, Netherlands
, with his coach, Torsten Petsch.
Zastrow's swimming career has been filled with a series of unfortunate injuries. In 2001, despite being the 100 meter freestyle
champion in Germany, a hand injury kept him from attending the FINA World Championships
in Fukuoka
, Japan.
In 2003, at the FINA World Championships
in Barcelona
, Spain
, Zastrow participated in his first World Championship as a Dutch citizen. However, due to a back injury, he was unable to swim in most of the events that he had qualified for.
Zastrow qualified fifth out of one hundred Dutch swimmers to participate in the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens
, Greece
. Along with Pieter van den Hoogenband
, Johan Kenkhuis
, and Klaas-Erik Zwering
, he was a member of the Dutch 4×100 meter freestyle relay team, which won silver by clocking in at 3:14.36.
Zastrow's specialty is actually the backstroke
. He has been the Dutch record holder in the 50 meter backstroke since 2003.
Zastrow has a Chinese ideograph
tattooed on his left shoulder. The character is "猴" and means "monkey."
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
swimmer and an Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
medalist. Originally from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Zastrow was born and raised in Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
, near Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. He became a naturalized Dutch citizen in July 2003, after a conflict with the German Swimming Association. He currently trains at PSV Eindhoven in Eindhoven, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, with his coach, Torsten Petsch.
Zastrow's swimming career has been filled with a series of unfortunate injuries. In 2001, despite being the 100 meter freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
champion in Germany, a hand injury kept him from attending the FINA World Championships
2001 World Aquatics Championships
rightThe 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001....
in Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, Japan.
In 2003, at the FINA World Championships
2003 World Aquatics Championships
Barcelona, Spain was the host city of the X FINA World Aquatics Championships or the 10th FINA World Championships in Aquatics, which were held from July 12 until July 27, 2003....
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Zastrow participated in his first World Championship as a Dutch citizen. However, due to a back injury, he was unable to swim in most of the events that he had qualified for.
Zastrow qualified fifth out of one hundred Dutch swimmers to participate in the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Along with Pieter van den Hoogenband
Pieter van den Hoogenband
Pieter Cornelis Ruud Martijn van den Hoogenband is a Dutch former swimmer and a triple Olympic champion.-Personal life:...
, Johan Kenkhuis
Johan Kenkhuis
Johan Kenkhuis is an Olympic medal winning Dutch swimmer.From a young age, Kenkhuis had a strong interest in swimming. In 1998, he won gold medals in both the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events in the European Junior Championships...
, and Klaas-Erik Zwering
Klaas-Erik Zwering
Klaas-Erik Zwering is a former Dutch swimmer and an Olympic medalist. He is currently studying MBO entrepreneurship as he trained in Eindhoven with the PSV Eindhoven swim club...
, he was a member of the Dutch 4×100 meter freestyle relay team, which won silver by clocking in at 3:14.36.
Zastrow's specialty is actually the backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
. He has been the Dutch record holder in the 50 meter backstroke since 2003.
Zastrow has a Chinese ideograph
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
tattooed on his left shoulder. The character is "猴" and means "monkey."