Firestone grad Mark Gangloff aims for his third Olympic team Tuesday night in a 100 breaststroke final filled with veterans.
OMAHA, Neb. -- Since the last Olympics, one beat cancer, one retired and unretired, and one had a daughter. The grand old men of the breaststroke have done some living in the past four years, and in a sport where teenagers often make a splash, the 100 breaststroke final tonight at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials should come down to three guys who have seen some stuff, in and out of the pool.
Mark Gangloff, a 30-year-old Akron Firestone grad, welcomed daughter Annabelle, with his wife Ashley, in 2009. Gangloff is a two-time Olympian, with two relay gold medals, who made the Olympic teams in 2004 and 2008 by finishing second in the 100 breaststroke at the trials. He enters tonight off the third-fastest time, a 1:00.22, in the semis Monday night, a race in which he said he felt "great" while smiling after his swim.
"I think I'm a different person than I was four years ago, and certainly different than eight years ago," Gangloff said. "I'm a father now. I was just a kid the first time, and I think I have a different outlook on life in general. I'm at peace with everything I'm doing, so as I'm progressing through this, I'm certainly not getting as nervous as I was before."
Brendan Hansen, 30, retired after the 2008 Olympics, rediscovered his competitive juices in triathlons and slipped back in the pool a little less than two years ago. He had to remember how to race but has found his old form and said Monday he's swimming better than ever. Hansen is a two-time Olympian with four medals, including two golds, and he won the 100 breaststroke at the past two trials, just ahead of Gangloff. He will start in lane 4 tonight after posting the fastest time, a 59.71, in the semis.
Eric Shanteau, 28, is the one who beat testicular cancer, which was diagnosed between the trials and the Olympics four years ago. The 2008 Games were his first, and he's without a medal, after finishing a distracted 10th in the 200 breaststroke in Beijing. He enters the final with the fourth-best time in the semis, a 1:00.27.
"With Brendan coming back, it's kind of the same old guys," Shanteau said.
Shanteau and Hansen are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the 200 breaststroke, so they'll have another chance Friday, while this is Gangloff's only real shot at the team.
All three, none of whom giggle while answering questions, understand there's more to life than swimming. And that, they say, is better for their swimming.
"There is a maturity level when you get older and you start to appreciate stuff," Hansen said. "I look back on the 2004 trials, and I was 21 years old, and I was all talent and runnin' and gunnin'. I felt like I had something to prove. Now, eight years later, I feel like I don't want to wish these two months away too fast."
"When you go through something like cancer at the Olympics," Shanteau said, "you say, 'Hey, swimming is not that big a deal anymore. It should be fun. I chose to do this, I'm not being forced to do this.' So racing gets a whole lot more fun."
Buckeyes start fast: Ohio State reached two goals on the first day of the trials, as OSU junior Shannon Draves and former Buckeyes swimmer Elliott Keefer each reached an evening semifinal after finishing in the top 16 in the prelims.
Draves, seeded 31st in the 100 butterfly, advanced with a morning swim that was 15th, though she wasn't sure at the time it would be enough.
She only knew an evening swim would be "awesome," and she couldn't stop smiling after finishing last in her semifinal, but dropping time.
"It was so neat, the energy was crazy," Draves said. "I was actually a lot less nervous than I was this morning. I got the jitters out this morning, so I figured I had nothing to lose."
Draves credited OSU teammate and Lakewood High grad Kelsey Moran with swimming well in the morning before Draves and letting her know what was out there.
"It got me excited, and everyone else excited," Draves said.
Keefer, seeded No. 5 in the 200 breaststroke later in the week with a real chance to make the team, called his semifinal advancement in the 100 breaststroke "icing."
"The swim went exactly as I wanted it," said Keefer, who was seeded 25th and swam 12th. "This is going to help my 200 a lot. Now I get a second swim to get better."
He finished last in his semi in that swim, but he still did what he wanted to do.
High schoolers learn: Hawken School senior-to-be Sarah Koucheki survived her first trials experience, finishing 154th in the prelims of the 100 butterfly.
"I was shaking up on the blocks," Koucheki said. "I was nervous going in, but getting the first race out of the way will help me for the next race in the 200 fly."
Akron Firestone junior Katie Miller, exhausted after her 400 IM swim, finished a strong 40th.