Mike Mintenko plans to bounce back from a disappointing performance at the world championships last year where he didn't reach the final in his best event, the men's 100-metre butterfly. Mintenko holds the national record in the event. He broke it four years ago at the Sydney Olympics in an impressive fifth place finish clocking 52.58 and again two years later at the U.S., Open lowering it to 52.44.
He has self-admittely struggled of late: "It's not where I want to be," he said. "In my last three meets (in 2004) I've had some tough races and I'll probably look at trying some different tactics. I'm fighting hard but I'm not getting the results I want."
Before moving to Vancouver, Mintenko swam and studied at the University of Nevada where he earned a degree in sport and fitness management.
Mintenko started swimming at age eight for fun but didn't start to train seriously as a competitive swimmer until age 17. He tried all sorts of different sports before he discovered his best talents were in the pool.
