Eric Shanteau
Shanteau in 2011
Personal information
Full nameEric Lee Shanteau
National team United States
Born (1983-10-01) October 1, 1983 (age 40)
Snellville, Georgia
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight176 lb (80 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke, medley
ClubLonghorn Aquatics
College teamAuburn University
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 4×100 m medley
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2009 Rome 4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shanghai 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2009 Rome 200 m breaststroke
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Rome 200 m medley
World Championships (SC)
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Indianapolis 400 m medley
Pan Pacific Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Irvine 200 m breaststroke
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2005 Izmir 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2005 Izmir 400 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2003 Daegu 400 m medley

Eric Lee Shanteau (born October 1, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer who won two gold medals as a member of winning United States relay teams at the World Championships. He was a member of the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams, and earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[1] Shanteau formerly held the 4×100-meter medley relay world record as a member of the U.S. team that competed at the 2009 FINA World Championship in Rome.

Early life

Shanteau was born in Snellville, Georgia.[2] He attended Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, where he became a national swimming champion while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA).[1]

College career

Shanteau attended Auburn University, where he was an 11-time All-American for the Auburn Tigers swimming and diving team.[3] At the 2003 World University Games, Shanteau won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley. At the 2005 World University Games, Shanteau won gold in both the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley, making him the first American to sweep both events.

International career

At the 2004 United States Olympic Trials in Long Beach, California, Shanteau placed third in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events,[4][5] just missing a place on the Olympic roster in both events. Shanteau also placed eleventh in the 200-meter breaststroke.[6]

Cancer diagnosis and 2008 Olympic Games

On July 3, 2008, Shanteau placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, guaranteeing himself a spot on the team set to compete in Beijing, China.[7] The week before, Shanteau was informed that he had testicular cancer, but chose to compete in the meet regardless. He competed in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where, despite missing the finals by thirteen one-hundredths (0.13) of a second,[8] he posted a personal best time. After returning to the United States, he underwent surgery to remove the cancerous testicle. Shanteau is now in remission and active in cancer awareness.[9]

2009

At the 2009 U.S. National Championships and World Championship Trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, Shanteau placed second to Mark Gangloff in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 59.45.[10] In the 200-meter individual medley, Shanteau placed second to Ryan Lochte with a time of 1:56.00,[11] making him the third fastest performer ever in that event.[12] Shanteau won the 200-meter breaststroke final in 2:08.01,[13] breaking his own American record he set in the preliminaries of the meet.[14] All of Shanteau's final times in Indianapolis were personal bests, and he qualified to swim all three of his individual events at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome.

At the World Championships in Rome, Shanteau placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:07.65),[15] third in the 200-meter individual medley (1:55.36),[16] and fourth in the 100-meter breaststroke (58.98).[17] Shanteau was also part of the U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team Aaron Peirsol, Michael Phelps and David Walters, which won the gold medal in a new world record of 3:27.28.[18]

2012 Olympic Games

At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying event for the U.S. Olympic team, Shanteau made the U.S. Olympic team by finishing second in the 100-meter breaststroke. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he placed fourth in the second semi-final of the 100-meter breaststroke and did not advance to the final. He earned a gold medal by swimming the breaststroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×100-meter medley relay.

Personal bests

Long course meters
Stroke Distance Time Date
Breaststroke 100 m 58.96 AR July 26, 2009
Breaststroke 200 m 2:07.42 AR July 30, 2009
Medley 200 m 1:55.36 July 30, 2009
Medley 400 m 4:14.33 August 1, 2006
AR=American record

Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "USA Swimming Athlete Bio: Eric Shanteau". Archived from the original on September 14, 2012.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Eric Shanteau". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  3. ^ "Auburn Tigers athlete bio: Eric Shanteau". Archived from the original on December 8, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
  4. ^ "2004 US Olympic Team trials results: Men's 200m individual medley finals" (PDF). July 12, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2012.
  5. ^ "2004 US Olympic Team trials results: Men's 400m individual medley final" (PDF). July 7, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "2004 Olympic Team trials results: Men's 200m breaststroke semifinals" (PDF). July 10, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2012.
  7. ^ Matt Dickinson (August 13, 2008). "Cancer can wait, says swimmer Eric Shanteau". London: Times Online.
  8. ^ "Eric Shanteau faces new battle". Die Welt. Welt Online. August 13, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  9. ^ "Olympic swimmer joins Young Adult Alliance against cancer". KVUE-TV. November 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 20, 2009.
  10. ^ "2009 US National Championships results: Men's 100m breaststroke final" (PDF). July 8, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2009.
  11. ^ "2009 US National Championships results: Men's 200m individual medley final" (PDF). July 10, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2009.
  12. ^ "Lochte Just Misses Phelps' World Record in 200m IM". swimnetwork.com. July 10, 2009. Archived from the original on July 13, 2009.
  13. ^ "2009 Conoco Phillips National Championships results: Men's 200m breaststroke final" (PDF). omegatiming.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2009.
  14. ^ "Eric Shanteau Lowers American Record in 200 Breast Again". swimmingworldmagazine.com. July 11, 2009. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012.
  15. ^ "2009 World Championships results: Men's 200m breaststroke final" (PDF). July 31, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2012.
  16. ^ "2009 World Championships results: Men's 200m individual medley final" (PDF). July 30, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2009.
  17. ^ "2009 World Championships results: Men's 100m breaststroke final" (PDF). July 27, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2009.
  18. ^ "2009 World Championships results: Men's 4×100m medley relay final" (PDF). August 2, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2009.
  19. ^ "Michael Phelps wins 3 Golden Goggle Awards". Taiwan News. November 18, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  20. ^ "Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin Win Athletes of the Year at Golden Goggles". Swimming World. November 19, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2022.

External links

Records Preceded byAaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak Men's 4×100-meter medley relay world record-holder August 2, 2009 – August 1, 2021 With: Aaron Peirsol, Michael Phelps, David Walters Succeeded byRyan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple
2008 USA Olympic swimming team
2012 USA Olympic swimming team
Olympic champions in men's 4 × 100 m medley relay
World long-course champions in men's 4×100 m medley relay
Summer Universiade Champions in Men's 200 m Individual Medley
Summer Universiade Champions in Men's 400 m Individual Medley
Categories