Michigan in the Olympics
2004 - Athens
A total of eighteen current, former and future Wolverines qualified for the the Athens games representing the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Turkey, Peru and New Zealand. The group included three entrants in the men's 1,500 meter run, first ever competitors in triathlon, women's rowing and fencing. Michael Phelps won the first of what would become a record number of medals.
Tom Malchow
Swimming
Tom Malchow returned for his third Olympics as defending gold medalist in the 200-meter butterfly and co-captain of the US swimming team. He won his qualifying heat, was third in the semi-final heat and finished eight in the finals. Malchow swam for U-M 1996-1999 and then with Club Wolverine. He was second in the US trials, three seconds behind world record holder Phelps.
U-M junior Peter Vanderkaay and senior n Ketchum won a spots on the U.S. 800-meter freestyle relay team with third-place and fifth place finishes in the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. trials. Ketchum swam the third leg and Vanderkaay to give the US a nearly four second win in the qualifying heat. In the finals, Phelps gave the US5a full second lead in the first leg. Ryan added a tenth in the second leg and Vanderkaay another .45 seconds in the third. Klete Keller held off Ian Thorpe to give the US the gold in 7:07.33
Peter Vanderkaay
Dan
Ketchum
Andrew Hurd
Canadian Andrew Hurd was the only Michigan swimmer to qualify for a foreign Olympic team in 2004. Hurd turned in a record breaking performance in winning the 400-meter freestyle at the Canadian trials. His time of 3:49.67 broke the Canadian record set in the 2000 trials by 0.32 seconds. He swan the second leg in Canada's fifth place finish in the 4x200 meter relay, placed 14th in the 400 m. freestyle and 18th in the 1,500 freestyle.
4-time Olympians
Gustavo Borges and Derya Buyukuncu
Brazil's Gustavo Borges qualified for his fourth Olympics, competing for Brazil in the 4x100m freestyle relay, did not make it out of the qualifying heat in Athens. The 1995 UM graduate was a seven-time NCAA champion and owned nineteen Pan-American Games medals to go along with two silver and two bronze Olympic medals.
Derya Buyukuncu, a ten-time All-American 1995-1998, also made his fourth Olympic team for Turkey.
Michael Phelps from the Baltimore Aquatic Club had positioned himself to challenge Mark Spitz's record of seven swimming gold medals. Phelps qualified for six individual events at the trials in California, but later dropped out of the 200-meter backstroke. Phelps was considered a favorite in the individual medleys, but was up against much tougher competition than Spitz faced in 1972. In the 200-meter freestyle, Phelps faced Australian world record-holder Ian Thorpe and defending Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands. In the 100-meter butterfly his challenge came from Ian Crocker who broke his own world record and beat Phelps by .39 seconds at the U.S. trials. He finished third in the 200 meter freestyle but took gold in four individual and two relay events, including a 0.04 second win over Crocker. Phelps would move to Ann Arbor to continue training with his coach Bob Bowman who had taken over for Jon Urbanchek as Wolverine head coach. Phelps would enroll, briefly, at U-M, but since he had raced professionally, could not compete for Michigan.
Another future Wolverine Athens was Valeria Silva from Peru who competed in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Track
The 1,500-meter race in Athens had a strong Michigan flavor. Kevin Sullivan, who finished fifth in Sydney, again represented Canada. Sullivan won the Canadian trials with a comparatively slow time of 3:53.68. For most of the race he was content to run in the middle of pack before taking the lead with 500 meters remaining and pulling away from the field. Sullivan had earlier met the Olympic "A" qualifying time with 3:35.93 second place finish at the Oregon Track Classic on June 5th.
UM junior Nick Willis of New Zealand finished third behind Sullivan at the Oregon Track Classic, but missed the "A" qualifying time of 3:36.20 by a mere .04 seconds. A month later, in his fourth attempt to make the qualifying time, Willis turned in a personal best time of 3:32.68 at the Golden Gala meet in Rome. Willis had been granted an exemption from the New Zealand trials and had only to make the "A" qualifying time to win a spot on the national team.
Nick Willis Kevin
Sullivan Alan Webb Tim Broe
Former Wolverine track and cross country runner Alan Webb, who left school after one year to turn pro, used an early burst of speed to build a commanding lead en route to winning the U.S. 1,500-meter trials in a time of 3:36.13. Webb earlier met the "A" qualifying time in May and on June 8 in Ostrander, Czech Republic, he posted a then fastest time in the world that year at 3:32.73.
In Athens Willis and Sullivan advanced to the semi-finals, placing 13th and 18th overall.
Michigan volunteer assistant track coach Tim Broe won the 5000-meter title at the U.S. Olympic Trials (July 6) but still needed to meet at least the Olympic "B" qualifying time to guarantee his trip to Athens. Broe met the "A" qualifying time on July 30 with a personal-best 13:18.61 at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix. He finished seventh in an international field, 23 seconds off the winning time. Broe's time was 2.89 seconds under the "A" time and 5.52 seconds better than his previous personal-best. He finished in 11th place (13.33.06) in Athens.
Courtney Babcock, winner of seven varsity letters in women's cross
country and track, 1992-1996, represented Canada in Athens. She was
Canadian record holder in the 5,000 (14:54.98) and 10,00 meter (31:44.74). At Athens
Babcock just missed advancing in 1,500 meter race, finishing ninth in her preliminary heat. She also failed to advance in the 5,000 meters.
Babcock had overcome a severe asthmatic condition to become one of the elite international runners-a year earlier she finished eighth in the 5,000 meters at the World Championships in Paris. While at Michigan, Babcock was a seven-time All-American in track and cross country and ran the opening leg on the 1994 NCAA champion distance medley team.
Rowing
Three rowers made the U.S. team in Athens: Steve Warner, member of the UM men's club team (1997-2000) and women's varsity rowing letterwinners Kate Johnson (1998-2001) and Kate MacKenzie (1997-1998). Johnson won a silver medal with the U.S. eight while McKenzie and Sophie Jones placed ninth in the coxless pairs.
Kate MacKenzie
Kate Johnson
MacKenzie was a member of the inaugural UM women's varsity team in 1997 and in 1998 was Michigan's rowing athlete of the year. A three-time member of the U.S. National team, MacKenzie stroked the U.S. eight to a gold medal in the FISA World Championships and was USRowing's female athlete of the year in 2002. MacKenzie clinched her spot in the U.S. pairs by winning both of the qualifying competitions at the end of June.
Johnson was formally named to the U.S. eight on July 7, but she was essentially assured a spot after the U.S. eight won 2004 World Cup races on May 29 in Munich, Germany, and on June 20 in Lucerne, Switzerland. Johnson was a three-time All-American (1999-2001), two-time Big Ten Conference Rowing Athlete of the Year (2000, 2001) and three-time U-M rowing Athlete of the Year (1999-2001).
2003 FISA bronze medal lightweight four
L-R:Matt Stephens, Erik Miller, Steve Warner,
Paul Teti (Pat Todd replaces Miller on the
Olympic team)
Warner raced in the men's lightweight four event at Athens. He was the first U-M athlete from a
men's club sport to make an Olympic team. The US team finished third in its opening heat and ninth overall.
Warner was part of the bronze medal winning U.S. lightweight four at the 2003 FISA World Rowing
Championships in Milan, Italy. In the lightweight four event, the team must average no more than 155
pounds and no member can be more than 160 pounds.
Triathlon
Andy Potts
Andy Potts registered another first for U-M Olympians. The former swimmer (1996-1999) and a walk-on
member of the UM track team (1999-2000), finished fourth in the 1996 U.S. Olympic 400-meter individual medley
trials behind U-M's Tom Dolan and Eric Namesnik. In Athens he fulfilled his Olympic dreams as a
member of the U.S. men's triathlon team. After graduating from U-M, Potts worked
in a corporate job in Chicago and did not compete in his first triathlon until June 2002.
With encouragement from 2000 Olympic triathlete Sheila Taormina and an invitation from USA Triathlon, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in October 2002 to begin serious training. Within 18 months he had risen from virtual unknown to the forefront of U.S. triathletes. Potts secured his Olympic spot by placing eleventh and being the second American finisher at the 2004 World Triathlon Championships.
Fencing
Sada Jacobson, a two-time NCAA fencing champion while at Yale who would enroll in the U-M Law School following the 2008 Olympics, won the bronze medal in the first Olympic competition in women's saber.
Coaches
Steve Fraser
Steve Fraser, gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984, was head coach of U.S. Greco-Roman team. Fraser's gold was the first ever for the United States in the sport. He was a four-time wrestling letter winner for U-M, 1977-1980, and served as an assistant coach. Kevin Jackson, who won a gold medal in 1992 and would become a U-M assistant wrestling coach in 2021, was head coach of the U.S. freestyle wrestling team.
New U-M head swimming coach Bob Bowman and his predecessor Jon Urbanchek both served as assistant coaches for the U.S. swimming team. Athens was the fifth consecutive Olympics in which Urbanchek has been an assistant U.S. coach. Greg Ryan, who would be hired as U-M women's soccer coach in 2008, was an assistant coach for the gold medal winning U.S. women's soccer team in Athens.
Kevin Jackson, Jon Urbanchek, Bob Bowman Ron Warhurst
The U-M Results - 2004
| Tom Malchow | ||
| 200m butterfly | 8th, 1:57.48 | |
| Peter Vanderkaay | ||
| 800m freestyle relay | 1st, 7:07.33 (swam 3rd leg in final in 1:47.78) | |
| Dan Ketchum | ||
| 800m freestyle relay | 1st, (swam 3rd leg in preliminary heat in 1:48.10, did not swim in final) | |
| Andrew Hurd (Canada) | ||
| 400m freestyle | 4th in prelim heat, 13th overall in prelims | |
| 800m freestyle relay | 5th, 7:13.33 | |
| Michael Phelps | ||
| 200m ind. medley | 1st, 1:57.14 (Olympic record) | |
| 400m ind. medley | 1st, 45:08.26 (world record) | |
| 200m freestyle | 3rd, 1:4.32 (American record) | |
| 100m butterfly | 1st, :51.25 (Olympic record) | |
| 200m butterfly | 1st, 1:54.04 (Olympic record) | |
| 4x100m free. relay | 3rd, 3:14.62 (swam 2nd leg) | |
| 4x200m free. relay | 1st, 7:07.33 (swam first leg in 1:46.49) | |
| 4x100m medley relay | 1st, swam in preliminary heat | |
| Gustavo Borges (Brazil) | ||
| 4x100m freestyle relay | 6th in preliminary heat (3:20.20) | |
| Derya Buyukuncu (Turkey) | ||
| 100m backstroke | 4th in preliminary heat 56.34 (26th overall) | |
| 200m backstroke | 2nd in preliminary heat, 2:02.20 (22nd overall) | |
| Valeria Silva (Peru) | ||
| 100m breaststroke | 5th in preliminary heat (2:02.69) | |
| Kevin Sullivan (Canada) | ||
| 1500m | 6th in heat 1 (3:39.30) qualified for semis 9th in semi-heat 2 (3:42.68) | |
| Nick Willis (New Zealand) | ||
| 1500m | 3rd in heat 2 (3:39.80) qualified for semis 6th in semi-heat 2 (3:41.36) | |
| Alan Webb | ||
| 1500m | 9th in heat 2 (3:41.25) | |
| Tim Broe | ||
| 5000m | 11th in final (13.33.06) 6th in prelim heat 1 (13:39.80) | |
| Courtney Babcock (Canada) | ||
| 5000m | 13th in heat 2 (14:47.35) | |
| 1500m | 9th in heat 1 (4:08.18) | |
| Kate Johnson | ||
| rowing eight | 2nd (6:19.56) | |
| Kate Mackenzie | ||
| rowing pairs | 9th place overall | |
| Steve Warner | ||
| lightweight four | 9th place overall | |
| Andy Potts | ||
| triathlon | 22nd place | |
| Sada Jacobson | ||
| fencing -- saber | 3rd | |