Swimmers with Ann Arbor ties come up short at world championships
SHANGHAI — Former Michigan swimmer Peter Vanderkaay missed the medal stand by one spot and Club Wolverine alumnus Michael Phelps was on the third-place 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the world championships Sunday.
Phelps, kicking off the first of his seven events at the eight-day meet, led off a stunning bronze-medal showing in the relay at the Oriental Sports Center. It was the first time since 2007 that the American men lost a relay of any kind at worlds or the Olympics.
"It's frustrating," he said. "It's not how we want to start it."
Michael Phelps, right, and Garrett Weber Gale watch the U.S. team's bronze medal finish in the 4x100 freeestyle relay at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Shanghai, China, Sunday.
AP Photo | Eugene Hoshiko
Vanderkaay finished fourth in the 400 freestyle and Pioneer High School graduate Kara Lynn Joyce swam a leg of the U.S. women's 4x100 freestyle team that qualified first, but did not swim in the final.
“It’s a little bit disappointing,” said Vanderkaay, who is looking to make his third Olympic appearance at the 2012 London Games. “I didn’t feel as sharp as I did in the morning. I still went faster, but to miss a medal by one spot is pretty bittersweet. “I got a little bit of experience. A lot of the same guys will be in the Olympic final. That’s a great time for me. I’m just a little bit disappointed in the place.”
Olympic champion Park Tae-hwan of South Korea showed he's back in top form by winning the 400.
Phelps and his 4x100 teammates (Garrett Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak and Nathan Adrian) were upset by the Australians, who got an opening leg split of 47.49 seconds from James Magnussen and went on to win in 3 minutes, 11.00 seconds.
France took the silver in 3:11.14 and the U.S. earned the bronze in 3:11.96.
Weber-Gale swam the slowest of the Americans, with his 100 split timed in 48.33.
"I feel sick about it. It's a huge disappointment to get bronze," he said. "It's pretty embarrassing for me to go slow like that and it's disappointing to feel like it was my fault that we did poorly."
Asked what needed changing, Phelps replied, "Clearly need to be faster. That's the easiest thing."
The U.S. women's 4x100 free relay didn't win its final, either. Natalie Coughlin, 16-year-old rookie Missy Franklin, Jessica Hardy and Dana Vollmer claimed the silver after Vollmer was overtaken on the next-to-last lap by Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.