swimming - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2008 - 100 Euro Cent

The present special stamp honors another top Austrian athlete today: Markus Rogan, most successful domestic swimmer of all time. Born on May 4, 1982 in Vienna, Rogan moved with his family to America at the age of 14, where, in addition to his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, he found the best possible conditions for a professional swim training. "It was certainly the sport that helped develop my personality," says Markus Rogan - and the long list of achievements proves talent and ambition formed these exceptional athletes. With the second place over 200 meters backstroke at the World Cup of Fukuoka (Japan) in 2001, he made the first international attention, followed by a sheer "unmanageable" amount of medals. A total of 27 times (!) He conquered gold, silver and bronze at the last major events (Olympic Games, World and European Championships), in addition to several national records, a European and even a world record: His parade discipline, 200 meters back, he swam in unbelievable 1: 47.84 minutes in April this year. His commitment at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens is unforgettable: immediately after the race (again 200 meters back!) The winner Aaron Peirsol was disqualified because of an alleged leg error after the third turn and Markus Rogan declared the winner. After a protest by the Americans, this decision was corrected again after 20 minutes. Through his athletic reaction to the initial disqualification - he insisted that Peirsol was the better swimmer to go for the gold medal alone - Rogan became "in one fell swoop" extremely popular. In September 2004 he received the "Special Fair Play Award" of the European Fair Play Movement (EFPM) for this exemplary sporting behavior, in October 2004 he was also voted "Athlete of the Year" - a truly remarkable achievement in winter sports otherwise dominated Austria. Recently, the sympathetic athlete lives with his partner in Rome, where, as he says, he has "the optimal training conditions". In his numerous media appearances, also as a popular promotional testimonial, he impresses above all by his great eloquence.