Seth Van Neerden is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 swimmer

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 and gold medal winner at the Pan American Games

Pan American Games

The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...

. He competed at the 1995 Pan American Games

1995 Pan American Games

The 12th Pan American Games were held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from March 12 to March 26, 1995. After 44 years, this was the Pan American Games first return to the country that hosted the first Games, in 1951.-Overview:...

 in Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...

, where he received a gold medal in 4 × 100 m medley

Medley swimming

Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay...

 relay, and gold medals in 100 m breaststroke

Breaststroke

The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...

and in 200 m breaststroke. He received a bronze medal at the 1993 FINA Short Course World Championships

1993 FINA Short Course World Championships

The 1st FINA Short Course World Championships were held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain from December 2 until December 5, 1993. PR China won the most gold medals, although all of their ten came in the women's events, with Le Jingyi winning two individual and three relay events to travel home with five...

 in Palma de Mallorca

Palma de Mallorca

Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...

.

Additionally, Van Neerden also won several United States Nationals titles throughout his career. In fact, it was at the United States Nationals meet in 1994 that he tied the American record in the 100 meters breaststroke, with a time of 1:01.40. This American record would stand for two years. Considered one of the world's top breastrokers of the '90s, Van Neerden ranked in the top 20 Worldwide for the 100 meter breaststroke every year from 1990-1996. He consistently ranked as one of the world's fastest 200 meter breaststrokers throughout these years as well. World famous swimming coach Jack Nelson, who trained Van Neerden at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in the early and mid 90s stated, "Seth Van Neerden is America's finest breaststroker."