Wolverines Experience Success at Olympic Team Trials
7/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Olympics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Following the recent United States and Canada Olympic Team Trials, four swimmers and two coaches with ties to the University of Michigan men's swimming and diving program will be representing their respective countries at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Dan Ketchum (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) and Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS), both members of the 2003-04 U-M squad, and former Wolverine Tom Malchow (1996-99) made the United States team at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials July 7-14 in Long Beach, Calif., while senior-to-be Andrew Hurd (Oakville, Ontario/Trafalger HS) qualified for the Canadian team at his country's Olympic Team Trials July 6-10 in Toronto. Ketchum and Vanderkaay both qualified in the 800-meter freestyle relay, while Malchow made the team in the 200-meter butterfly. Hurd qualified in the 400-meter freestyle.
Incoming Wolverines head coach Bob Bowman, coach of swimming phenom Michael Phelps at North Baltimore Aquatic Club, and legendary coach Jon Urbanchek, who is retiring after a 22-year U-M career, have both been named assistant coaches for the U.S. Olympic men's swimming team. In addition, former U-M tanker Andy Potts (1996-99) is a member of the U.S. triathlon team.
Klete Keller, who trains under Urbanchek as a member of Club Wolverine, also had an outstanding meet at the U.S. Trials, qualifying in the 200-meter freestyle, the 400-meter freestyle and the 800-meter freestyle relay, and Club Wolverine member Kara Lynn Joyce, who swims collegiately at Georgia, made the U.S. women's team in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events as well as the 400-meter freestyle relay.
The U.S. Trials started on Wednesday, July 7, with the 400-meter freestyle prelims and finals. Keller took the top place in the event with a U.S. Open-record time of 3:44.19, followed by Vanderkaay in third at 3:50.15. U-M junior Brendan Neligan (Briarwood, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy HS) finished 10th overall with a time of 3:56.15.
On Thursday, July 8, Keller, Vanderkaay, Ketchum, sophomore Chris DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland HS) and sophomore Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn./Webb School) all competed in the 200-meter freestyle prelims and semifinals. Keller held the top spot after the prelims but relinquished it to Phelps in the semifinal round. Heading into the finals, Keller sat second followed by Vanderkaay in fifth, Ketchum in seventh and DeJong in 11th at 1:50.27. Tarwater finished 28th overall in the event with a time of 1:51.95.
The finals for the 200-meter freestyle were held on Friday, July 9. Keller finished second with a time of 1:46.87, and right behind him was Vanderkaay in third at 1:48.52. Both swimmers earned an automatic berth onto the U.S. squad. Ketchum finished fifth in the event with a time of 1:48.67, just 0.02 seconds out of fourth place and an automatic selection. Ketchum, however, was later added to the team as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay team.
Earlier in the day, the 200-meter butterfly prelims and semifinals took place. U-M had four representatives in the event: Malchow, Tarwater, Neligan and junior Zayd Ma (Ann Arbor, Mich./Clonlara HS). Malchow, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the event, held the top spot after the prelims, but once again Phelps took it over after the semifinal round. Heading into the finals, Malchow was second, Tarwater was fourth and Ma finished 13th with a time of 2:01.33. Neligan was 22nd overall at 2:02.59.
Saturday, July 10, housed the 200-meter breaststroke prelims and finals and the 200-meter butterfly finals. Freshman Jim Kibbe (Plano, Texas/Jesuit College Prep) made the semifinal heat and finished 16th in the breaststroke event with a time of 2:19.56. In the 200-meter butterfly final, Malchow finished second with a time of 1:57.37 to earn his third trip to the Olympics. Tarwater clocked in at 1:57.82 to claim fourth place.
On Sunday, July 11, DeJong competed in the 200-meter backstroke prelims and semifinals. DeJong sat sixth in the prelims, but improved his position to third in the semifinal round. In the finals on Monday, July 12, DeJong clocked in at 1:59.00, good for fourth in the event.
Also, on Monday were the 100-meter butterfly prelims and semifinals. Tarwater finished sixth in both rounds to qualify for the finals on Tuesday, July 13. Tarwater finished seventh in the finals with a time of 54:00.
Keller, Vanderkaay, former Wolverine Chris Thompson (1997-2000) and Neligan all competed in the 1,500-meter freestyle prelims on July 13. Keller swam the second fastest time in the prelims followed by Vanderkaay in fourth at 15:27.63. Thompson, the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist who fractured both elbows in a freak training accident two and half months prior to the Trials, was 11th and Neligan clocked in at 16:05.81 to finish 26th overall.
In the 1,500-meter freestyle final on Wednesday, July 14, Keller finished fourth at 15:22.95. Vanderkaay did not compete in the final, but Thompson finished seventh at 15:44.57.
The Canadian Trials started on Tuesday, July 6, with the 400-meter individual medley and the 400-meter freestyle. U-M junior Chuck Sayao (Mississauga, Ontario/Cawthra Park HS) finished third in the 400-meter IM with a time of 4:22.27. The highlight of the day came when Hurd set a Canadian record in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:49.67, qualifying him for the Olympics.
On Wednesday, July 7, Hurd finished third in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:49.42, and on Saturday, July 10, he clocked in at 15:41.44 to finish second in the 1,500-meter freestyle.
Complete U-M Results: United States | Canada
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