Vanderkaay, Phelps Lead U.S. Relay to Olympic Gold
8/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Olympics
BEIJING, China-- Former University of Michigan men's swimmer Peter Vanderkaay (2003-06) and former U-M volunteer swimming coach Michael Phelps each earned Olympic gold as members of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay Wednesday morning (Aug. 13), winning with a new world-record time of 6:58.56.
With Phelps leading off and Vanderkaay swimming the anchor leg, the American team, which also included Ryan Lochte and Ricky Berens, led wire-to-wire to smash the previous world record of 7:03.24.
Phelps' quest for the Olympic gold-medal record also continued as he set the pace with a 1:43.31 first leg, providing a two-second lead for the Americans after just 100 meters. Lochte and Berens increased that lead in the middle 200m, giving Vanderkaay a five-second edge going into the final 100 meters. Vanderkaay finished the victory with a 1:44.68 split to give the U.S. team a 5.14-second victory over silver medalists Russia.
As a result, Vanderkaay earned his second career Olympic gold and third career Olympic medal. The other gold came in this same event four years ago in Athens, and the third medal, a bronze, came just one day ago (Aug. 12) in the 200-meter freestyle. Vanderkaay will swim one more event in Beijing, the 1,500-meter freestyle. The heats will commence Friday (Aug. 15) with the finals taking place Sunday (Aug. 17).
Phelps, who also won the 200-meter butterfly gold medal Wednesday morning, has now won five gold medals in Beijing and 11 in his illustrious career, the most of any athlete in the history of the Olympic Games. He has three events remaining in his Olympic schedule: the 200-meter individual medley, 100-meter butterfly and 4x100-meter medley relay.
Another former Wolverine in the pool during the 4x200m freestyle final was Canadian Andrew Hurd (2002-05). Competing in his third Olympics, Hurd swam the anchor leg in a 1:46.85 split, helping the Canadian team to a fifth-place finish.
