| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Heather Brand |
| National team |  Zimbabwe |
| Born | 17 November 1982 Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly |
| Club | King Aquatic Club (U.S.) |
| College team | Louisiana State University (U.S.)[1] |
| Coach | Sean Hutchison (U.S.)[1] |
Medal record | |
Heather Brand (born 17 November 1982) is a Zimbabwean swimmer, who specialised in freestyle and butterfly events.[2] Brand had claimed a total of five medals (three silver and two bronze) at the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria, and eventually represented her nation Zimbabwe in the 100 m butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[3][4] Apart from her medal treasury, Brand also established five long and short-course national records in all butterfly events at a major international competition, spanning three editions of the World Championships.[5][6]
Brand competed for Zimbabwe in the women's 100 m butterfly at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She scored a solid Zimbabwean record of 1:00.61 to capture the 100 m butterfly crown and slide under the FINA B-cut (1:01.43) by nearly a full second at the All-Africa Games one year earlier.[4][7] Swimming on the outside in heat three, Brand wound up last in a disappointing 1:01.39 to round out the eight-female pack, over two seconds behind the leader Birgit Koschischek of Austria. Brand failed to advance to the semifinals, as she placed forty-second overall out of 49 swimmers in the prelims.[8]
Brand is the former captain of the LSU swimming team and a graduate of wildlife management at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[9] She is also a resident athlete of King Aquatic Club in Federal Way, Washington, where she trained with numerous world-class swimmers, including Margaret Hoelzer and Megan Jendrick of the United States (both of whom were Olympic medalists), and Svetlana Karpeeva, an individual medley specialist from Russia.[10][1]
- ^ a b c Olson, Casey (13 June 2008). "A dream comes true: Brand will swim at the Olympics". Federal Way Mirror. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Heather Brand". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Zimbabwean sports officials confident of Beijing Olympics". Xinhua News Agency. 2 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ a b Kausiyo, Petros (14 July 2007). "Zimbabwe: Another Medal for Country". The Herald. Zimbabwe: AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Swimmer Brand to represent country in Montreal". Tiger Sports Digest. 22 July 2005. Archived from the original on 26 December 2005. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Matiza, Collin (9 April 2008). "Zimbabwe: Coventry to Compete at Manchester World Champs". All Africa. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Olympic Cut Sheet – Women's 100m Butterfly" (PDF). Swimming World Magazine. p. 74. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ "Women's 100m Butterfly Heat 3". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Smith, Nick. "LSU swimmer to represent Zimbabwe in 2008 Olympics". CBS College Sports. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Borzilleri, Meri-Jo (15 June 2008). "Olympic hopeful Margaret Hoelzer makes smooth transition onto King Aquatic squad". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2013.