Malchow grabs gold in 200 fly

By Benjamin Singer

Daily Sports Writer

While most of Ann Arbor slept early yesterday, former Michigan swimmer Tom Malchow set a new Olympic record on the way to a gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly.

After setting a new standard in the Olympic games with a preliminary time of 1:56.02, Malchow bettered himself and everyone else again in the finals, finishing in 1:55.35 in the final heat.

Not only did he improve his times, but also the color of his medal. Malchow earned the silver in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Malchow lagged behind in fifth place after the first lap, but a strong finish put him in first.

"That's kind of typical of Malchow to come back at the end of the race," Michigan diving coach Dick Kimball said.

Even after trailing early, Malchow kept his cool.

"I stuck with my wits," he said. "When you're a competitive person, it's hard to sit back and watch people ahead of you, but you've got to pick your moments.

"You don't want to get too far behind in the game. It's not an exact science. I still do some dumb things, but it usually works out well."

Malchow missed his own world record by 17 hundredths of a second. He swam 1:55.18 in June at a meet in Charlotte, N.C.

"I'm sure he's disappointed in missing the world record," Kimball said. "In the Olympics, coming in first is all that matters."

Malchow is the second former Michigan swimmer to win a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Tom Dolan won the gold medal and beat his own world record Sunday in the 400-meter individual medley.

Former Wolverine Gustavo Borges earned a bronze medal for the Brazilian team in the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Assistant Michigan coach Eric Namesnik - an Olympic silver medalist for the 400-meter individual medley in 1992 and 1996 - has been keeping in contact with Michigan head swimming coach Jon Urbanchek, who is an assistant for the U.S. team in Sydney.

"Down there, swimming is extremely popular," Namesnik said. "Everyone is talking about it. (Urbanchek) says that's fun to be a part of."

Namesnik not only learns results a little early from Urbanchek, but also hears about Michigan senior and 1,500-meter freestyler Chris Thompson, who has yet to swim.

"From all indications, he's in good spirits and training well," Namesnik said. "I don't know if he can get a medal, but he could finish third."

The success of former Michigan athletes at the Olympics hasn't overshadowed practices at Canham Natatorium but the swimmers still pay attention to the action in Sydney.

"We've been pretty much going about business," Namesnik said. "We've been posting articles up on the wall and these guys have been soaking it all up. I tell them to use it as motivation for this season."

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.