Mike Mintenko
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Michael ("Mike") Mintenko (born November 7, 1975 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) is a freestyle and butterfly swimmer from Canada, who twice competed for his native country at the Summer Olympics: in 2000 (Sydney, Australia) and in 2004 (Athens, Greece). Since 2005 he has been married to Lindsay Benko, an US Olympic swimmer.
A specialist in the 100m Butterfly, Mintenko has been one of Canada's top and most consistent international performers since 1999. He was a finalist at both the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2001 World Aquatics Championships, and in 2003 he was Canada's top international performer with seven medals and a Canadian record in the 50m Butterfly. Mintenko also holds the Canadian national record in the 100m Butterfly.
Before joining the UBC-Dolphins, Mintenko studied at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in sport and fitness. In 2000, he garnered headlines when his father Leonard raised funds for his son by issuing a 16-month calendar with photos of Mintenko in his hometown of Moose Jaw, Sask. All sixhundred copies were sold out.
Mintenko started swimming at age eight for fun but didn't start to train seriously as a competitive swimmer until age seventeen. He tried all sorts of different sports, including hockey, before he discovered his best talents were in the pool.
