Michigan Olympic Updates: Men's Swimming
8/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Olympics
Sunday, Aug. 17
Former Michigan volunteer swimming coach Michael Phelps capped his Olympics with an unprecedented eighth gold medal Sunday morning as part of the U.S. 4x100-meter medley relay team. The American foursome of Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps and Jason Lezak took gold in a world-record time of 3:29.34. As Phelps entered the pool for the third leg of the race, the butterfly, the Americans were in third. But Phelps swam a 50.15 split to give the U.S. quartet the lead, and Lezak held on to give gold to the Americans. Phelps has now won 14 gold medals and 16 total Olympic medals in his spectacular career.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 4x100m Medley Relay Final | 1st, Gold (3:29.34*) |
Saturday, Aug. 16
Former U-M volunteer swimming coach Michael Phelps tied Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics Saturday morning by winning gold in the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps did so in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion, out-touching Milorad Cavic of Serbia by just one one-hundredth of a second. After 50m Phelps was in seventh, but he came on in the second half of the race, winning in an Olympic-record time of 50.58. Just one race remains for Phelps in Beijing, the 4x100-meter medley relay final, scheduled for Sunday morning.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 100m Butterfly Final | 1st, Gold (50:58!) |
Friday, Aug. 15
Former U-M volunteer swimming coach Michael Phelps' historic Olympics continued Friday morning as he won the 200-meter individual medley in a world-record time of 1:54.23. Phelps has now won six gold medals in Beijing and 12 in his Olympic career. Phelps won the 200m IM by more than two seconds over Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. All six of Phelps' gold medal-winning swims in Beijing have broken world records. Later Friday morning, Phelps advanced to the final of the 100-meter butterfly by winning his semifinal in a time of 50.97. The 100m butterfly final will take place Saturday morning in Beijing.
Former Wolverine Peter Vanderkaay was back competing at the National Aquatics Center on Friday evening in the heats of the 1,500-meter freestyle. Vanderkaay finished fourth in heat five, touching the wall in a time of 14:52.11. Vanderkaay's time was 11th out of 35 athletes competing in the 1,500m freestyle but was not good enough to advance him to the final.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Individual Medley Final | 1st, Gold (1:54.23*) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 100m Butterfly Semifinals | 1st, Semi 1 (50.97^) |
| Peter Vanderkaay (USA) | 1,500m Freestyle Heats | 4th, Heat 5 (14:52.11) |
Thursday, Aug. 14
Former Wolverine Scott Spann (2007-08) took to the water in the final of the 200-meter breaststroke Thursday morning in Beijing, touching the wall in a time of 2:09.76 to finish sixth. Kosuke Kitajima of Japan won gold in an Olympic-record time of 2:07.64.
Former Michigan volunteer swimming coach Michael Phelps did not have a final on Thursday morning, but he did compete in the semifinals of the 200-meter individual medley. Phelps won the first semifinal in a time of 1:57.70, earning the second seed in Friday morning's final. Fellow American Ryan Lochte will be the top seed by virtue of winning the second semifinal with a time 0.01 of a second faster than Phelps.
Back in the pool during the evening session, Phelps took second in the ninth preliminary heat of the 100-meter butterfly, touching the wall in 50.87. Milorad Cavic of Serbia won the heat in a time of 50.76, a new Olympic record. Phelps' time was the second-fastest of the 65 competitors in the preliminary round, advancing him to the semifinals on Friday morning.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Scott Spann (USA) | 200m Breaststroke Final | 6th (2:09.76) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Individual Medley Semifinals | 1st, Semi 1 (1:57.70^) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 100m Butterfly Heats | 2nd, Heat 9 (50.87+) |
Wednesday, Aug. 13
Former Wolverine Peter Vanderkaay and former volunteer swimming coach Michael Phelps made up half of the United States gold medal-winning relay Wednesday morning in the 4x200-meter freestyle final. Vanderkaay, Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Ricky Berens dominated the field, winning by more than five seconds and setting a new world record of 6:58.56. Former Wolverine Andrew Hurd (2002-05) also competed in the 4x200-meter freestyle final. Swimming the anchor led, Hurd and the Canadians finished fifth with a time of 7:05.77.
Earlier in the morning session, Phelps won his third individual gold of the Beijing Games, placing first in the 200-meter butterfly. As he has done in every final thus far, Phelps won gold by setting a new world record, touching the wall in 1:52.03. With Wednesday's two gold medals, Phelps now has 11 in his career, more than anyone else in Olympic history.
Also on Wednesday morning in Beijing, former Wolverine Scott Spann (2007-08) took to the pool in the semifinals of the 200-meter breaststroke. Spann, swimming in the first semifinal, took second with a time of 2:09.08 behind Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, who won the semi in an Olympic record of 2:08.61. Spann's time qualified him as the third seed for the final taking place on Thursday morning in Beijing.
During Wednesday evening's session, Phelps was back at the National Aquatics Center, this time competing in the preliminary heats of the 200-meter individual medley. Phelps won heat six, touching the wall with a time of 1:58.65. He advanced to Thursday morning's semifinals as the sixth seed.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Andrew Hurd (Canada) | 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final | 5th (7:05.77) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final | 1st, Gold (6:58.56*) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Butterfly Final | 1st, Gold (1:52.03*) |
| Scott Spann (USA) | 200m Breaststroke Semfinals | 2nd, Heat 1 (2:09.08^) |
| Peter Vanderkaay (USA) | 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final | 1st, Gold (6:58.56*) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Individual Medley Heats | 1st, Heat 6 (1:58.65+) |
Tuesday, Aug. 12
Michigan alumnus Peter Vanderkaay and former U-M volunteer swimming coach Michael Phelps each took home medals in Tuesday morning's 200-meter freestyle final in Beijing. Vanderkaay touched the wall in a career-best time of 1:45.14 to earn bronze, his first career individual Olympic medal, and Phelps won the event with a world-record time of 1:42.96. For Phelps, the gold was his third of these Olympics and the ninth of his career, tying the record with four others for most career Olympic gold medals by an individual.
Later in Tuesday morning's session, Phelps was back in the pool competing in the semifinals of the 200-meter butterfly. Swimming in the second semifinal heat, Phelps advanced to the final as the top seed by tying the Olympic record of 1:53.70. The final of the 200m butterfly is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
In Tuesday's evening session, former Wolverines Andrew Hurd (2002-05) and Scott Spann (2007-08) each competed at the National Aquatics Center. Hurd swam the anchor leg of the Canadian 4x200-meter freestyle relay team that finished third in their heat with a time of 7:08.04. The Canadian team's time placed them fifth overall, advancing the quartet to Wednesday morning's 4x200-meter freestyle final. Phelps and Vanderkaay did not compete for the U.S. in the heat of the relay, but are expected to swim for the U.S. in the final on Wednesday (Aug. 13).
In the fifth heat of the 200-meter breaststroke prelims, Spann finished second, touching the wall in 2:10.61. Spann's time was good for tenth overall among the 52 swimmers competing in the event, which advances him to Wednesday morning's semifinal.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Butterfly Semifinals | 1st, Semi 2 (1:53.70$) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Freestyle Finals | 1st, Gold (1:42.96*) |
| Peter Vanderkaay (USA) | 200m Freestyle Finals | 3rd, Bronze (1:45.14) |
| Andrew Hurd (Canada) | 4x200m Freestyle Relay Heats | 3rd, Heat 1 (7:08.04^) |
| Scott Spann (USA) | 200m Breaststroke Heats | 2nd, Heat 5 (2:10.61+) |
Monday, Aug. 11
Former Michigan volunteer men's swimming coach Michael Phelps won his second gold medal in Beijing, swimming the first leg of a dramatic 4x100-meter freestyle relay final. The American foursome of Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak took gold in a time of 3:08.24, shattering the previous world record by four seconds. Phelps set a new American 100m record of 47.51 seconds in the first leg of the relay, but Australia led after 100m as their first leg swimmer, Eamon Sullivan, touched the wall in 47.24, breaking the 100m world record. The Americans trailed France by 0.59 seconds heading into the final leg when Lezak swam the fastest-ever 100m relay split, 46.06 seconds, to edge out Alain Bernard of France by 0.08 seconds.
Earlier in the morning session in Beijing, Phelps and Michigan alumnus Peter Vanderkaay took to the pool in the semifinals of the 200-meter freestyle. Phelps and Vanderkaay were both in the second semifinal, won by Vanderkaay in a time of 1:45.76. Phelps finished third in the heat with a time of 1:46.28. Both Vanderkaay and Phelps advanced to the 200m freestyle final which will be held Tuesday morning in Beijing.
In Monday's evening session in Beijing, Phelps' busy Olympic calendar continued with the qualifying heats of the 200-meter butterfly. Also swimming in the 200m fly heats was Michigan junior Alon Mandel, who swam in heat three, finishing fourth with a new personal-best time of 1:59.27. Phelps, swimming in heat six, set a new Olympic record, winning his heat in 1:53.70. Phelps advanced to Tuesday morning's semifinals of the 200m fly as the top seed. Mandel finished 28th overall and will not advance to the semifinals.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 4x100 Freestyle Relay | 1st, Gold (3:08.24!*) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Freestyle Semfinals | 3rd, Heat 2 (1:46.28^) |
| Peter Vanderkaay (USA) | 200m Freestyle Semfinals | 1st, Heat 2 (1:45.76^) |
| Alon Mandel (Israel) | 200m Butterfly Heats | 4th, Heat 3 (1:59.27) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Butterfly Heats | 1st, Heat 6 (1:53.70!) |
Sunday, Aug. 10
Michael Phelps, former U-M volunteer men's swimming coach and multiple medalist in Athens, won his seventh career Olympic gold medal Sunday morning in Beijing, taking first in the 400-meter individual medley in a world-record time of 4:03.84. Phelps, who has placed first in every one of his 400m IM races in the past six years, broke his own world record that he set at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha in July. Phelps led fellow American Ryan Lochte by just 0.20 seconds at the midway point of the race, but increased his lead during the breaststroke and pulled away during the freestyle, winning by 2.32 seconds over Laszlo Cseh of Hungary; Lochte finished third.
Competing in his first career Olympic individual final, former Wolverine Peter Vanderkaay finished just outside the medals in the 400-meter freestyle. Vanderkaay touched the wall fourth in a time of 3:43.11, just 0.33 seconds behind U.S. athlete Larsen Jensen, who set a new American record while finishing third. Taehwan Park of South Korea won the gold with a time of 3:41.86. Vanderkaay's fourth-place finish was the best ever for a former or current Michigan swimmer in the 400m freestyle at the Olympics. The previous high was Jack Wardrop's fifth-place finish for Great Britain in 1952.
Phelps and Vanderkaay were both back in the pool during Sunday evening's swimming session in Beijing as each competed in the 200-meter freestyle heats. Phelps, swimming in heat eight, finished with a time of 1:46.48, good for second in the heat and 0.68 seconds behind Dominik Meichtry of Switzerland. Vanderkaay was second in heat seven, touching the wall in 1:47.39. Paul Biedermann of Germany won the heat with a time of 1:47.09. As a result of their respective finishes, both Phelps and Vanderkaay advanced to the semifinals scheduled for Monday morning at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 400m Individual Medley Final | 1st, Gold (4:03.84*) |
| Peter Vanderkaay (USA) | 400m Freestyle Finals | 4th (3:43.11) |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 200m Freestyle Heats | 2nd, Heat 8 (1:46.48+) |
| Peter Vanderkaay (USA) | 200m Freestyle Heats | 2nd, Heat 7 (1:47.39+) |
Saturday, Aug. 9
On Saturday, former Wolverine and 2004 gold medalist Peter Vanderkaay and former U-M volunteer men's swimming coach and 2004 multiple medalist Michael Phelps kicked off a busy nine days for Wolverines in the pool in Beijing, China. In the first of four events he will swim at the games, Vanderkaay advanced to the final of the 400-meter freestyle by taking second his heat, touching the wall in 3:44.22; just 0.19 seconds behind goal medal favorite Grant Hackett of Australia, who won the heat. Vanderkaay's time was the sixth-fastest among the 36 athletes to compete in the five heats. The final of the 400m freestyle final will take place on Sunday morning.
Phelps opened his Olympic schedule by winning his heat in the 400-meter individual medley with an Olympic-record time of 4:07.82. His time was 0.44 seconds better than the previous record, which he set in the finals of the 400 IM four years ago in Athens. His heat in the 400m IM was the first of a possible 17 races for Phelps in Beijing. Next up for Phelps will be the finals of the 400 IM on Sunday morning.
| INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RESULT |
| Michael Phelps (USA) | 400m Individual Medley Heats | 1st, Heat 4 (4:07.82!^) |
| Peter Vanderkaay (USA) | 400m Freestyle Heats | 2nd, Heat 5 (3:44.22^) |
* World Record
! Olympic Record
^ Qualified for final
+ Advanced to semifinals
Players Mentioned
