Sunset Alumnus Wins 2024 Paris Olympic Medal
Now, we all know that Apollo is the Greek god of the sun, but did you know he’s also the god of swimming? Okay, that’s not true, but 2019 Sunset High School graduate Caspar Corbeau is certainly making it seem that way. This last Wednesday, July 31st, 2024, Corbeau won the Olympic bronze medal for the men’s 200-meter breaststroke in Paris. With an incredible time of 2:07.90, he earned one of the Netherlands’ two Olympic medals for swimming (thus far) in this year’s Olympics.
Though Corbeau was trained and raised here in the US, he made the switch to swimming for the Netherlands in the August of 2023. He’s a dual citizen thanks to his parents’ nationality and can speak Dutch. In a recent Instagram post, he expressed that the switch was to “rediscover [his] love for the sport of swimming,” and that he is “forever grateful” to the Netherlands team and staff for helping him restore his passion.
Corbeau previously participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, coming in 21st for the same 200-meter event. The swimmer has been participating in other competitions such as the Mare Nostrum tour since. He stated in an interview just this June that one of his biggest aspirations was to “eventually get an Olympic medal.” The bronze for the men’s 200-meter breaststroke marks the achievement of that goal as his first top-three Olympic placement.
Apollos should be very proud of this inspirational alumnus, and maybe take a note from one of his pre-race rituals. Behind the block, Corbeau has taken to simply saying “enjoy” to himself, because “you don’t get to do this forever.” A sentiment true for both Olympic swimming and high school. Three cheers for Caspar Corbeau!
