Vanderkaay, Ketchum Strike Olympic Gold on 800 Relay
8/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Olympics
ATHENS, Greece -- The University of Michigan placed a pair of swimmers on the gold-medal podium as the U.S. won the men's 800-meter freestyle relay today (Tuesday, Aug. 17) at the 2004 Olympic Games with a time of 7:07.33. Junior-to-be Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) swam the third leg of the finals, giving the U.S. a one-length lead heading into the final 200 meters of the race. Both Vanderkaay and Dan Ketchum (2001-04) helped the Team USA earn the top seed in the finals as a member of the prelims squad. The Americans clocked in with a time of 7:12.80 in the prelims.
Michael Phelps led off U.S relay team with a split of 1:46.49 to give the Americans a one-length lead over the Australian team after the first 200 meters of the race. Ryan Lochte swam the second leg with a split of 1:47.52 but was caught by Australian Michael Klim and the two teams were dead even midway through the race. Vanderkaay took over for the Americans and swam his 200 meters in 1:47.79 to regain the one-length lead that Phelps established. Club Wolverine member Klete Keller swam the anchor for the U.S. but was caught by Australian anchor Ian Thorpe with just 50 meters to go. Keller, however, kicked over the final 50 meters to secure the gold medal by 0.13 seconds.
Junior Andrew Hurd (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Trafalger HS) swam the third leg of the relay for Team Canada, which finished fifth overall in 7:13.33. Hurd was the only Canadian to top his personal best in the event with a split of 1:48.09.
Earlier in the day, former Wolverine Tom Malchow (1996-99) took eighth overall in the 200-meter butterfly with a finals time of 1:57.48. Malchow, who is nursing an injured shoulder and will retire following the Olympics, swam the fourth fastest time in the prelims at 1:57.75 on Tuesday (Aug. 16) but barely made the finals cut with a semifinal time of 1:57.48. Malchow edged the ninth-place finisher by just 0.10 of a second to claim the last spot in the finals. Phelps claimed the gold medal in the event with an Olympic-record time of 1:54.04.
Event Winners/U-M Finishes
Monday, August 16
200-Meter Butterfly (Prelims) Heat 3 1. Tom Malchow, USA 1:57.75 200-Meter Butterfly (Semifinals) Heat 1 1. Stephen Parry, Great Britain 1:55.57 3. Tom Malchow, USA 1:57.48
Tuesday, August 17
800-Meter Freestyle Relay (Prelims)
Heat 1
1. USA 7:12.80
(Scott Goldblatt, Ryan Lochte,
Dan Ketchum, Peter Vanderkaay)
3. Canada 7:18.05
(Mark Johnston, Andrew Hurd,
Brian Johns, Rick Say)
200-Meter Butterfly (Final)
1. Michael Phelps, USA 1:54.04OR
8. Tom Malchow, USA 1:57.48
800-Meter Freestyle Relay (Final)
1. USA 7:07.33
(Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte,
Peter Vanderkaay, Klete Keller)
5. Canada 7:13.33
(Brent Hayden, Brian Johns,
Andrew Hurd, Rick Say)
OR - Indicates Olympic Record
Players Mentioned
