Van den Hoogenband back for European champs

Olympic gold medallist Pieter van den Hoogenband makes a welcome return to major competition at the European Championships, which start in Budapest today.

The 28-year-old Dutchman, who achieved a rare Olympic double in the 100 and 200 metres freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Games, retained the 100 crown in Athens in 2004.

Van den Hoogenband caused a sensation at the Sydney Olympics with respective defeats of Alexander Popov in the 100 freestyle and Ian Thorpe in the 200.

His world record semi-final 100 freestyle time of 47.84 seconds still stands, nearly six years on.

He beat Thorpe again in the Athens 100, although the Australian world record holder relegated him to silver in the 200, but 2005 was a blank for the Dutchman, who underwent a hernia operation and missed the World Championships.

Now he returns to face Italy's Filippo Magnini, who won the 2005 world 100 freestyle title in Montreal having deprived Van den Hoogenband of his European crown in Madrid in 2004.

At the 1999 Europeans in Istanbul, Van den Hoogenband won six gold medals and was denied a seventh only by the false start of a team-mate in a relay.

Fellow Olympic champion Laure Manaudou of France could match that, having been lined up for eight races in Budapest - the 200, 400 and 800 metres freestyle, 100 metres backstroke, 200 and 400 metres individual medley, 4x200 metres freestyle relay and 4x100 metres medley relay.

The championships, returning to the city where they were first held 80 years ago, begin today with open water swimming in Lake Balaton and synchronised swimming.

The main pool swimming events start next Monday and diving on Tuesday.