|
Olympic Games Coverage on Swim Stars Live
|
INFO
Quotes from Peter
2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
[On his 1650 yd Free @ '06 NCAAs] "I split it just the way I wanted to. Obviously it would have been nice to have won, but Sebastien (Rouault of Georgia) had a great race and he's a great competitor."
[On 2006 NCAA Champs] "I think we gave it our all. I don’t think our place shows how good our team is. I was happy with my swims individually and I was still proud to go out like this."
[On their 800 yd Free Relay finish at '06 NCAAs] "We're happy the way we performed at a big pressure meet like this, obviously we would've liked to have won, but we're happy to be here representing Michigan."
[On his 200 yd Free race at '06 NCAAs] "It was a good time for me, a best time and I'll take it. I swam the race I wanted to, Simon [Burnett-Arizona] had a great race."
[On the final 25 yds of his 200 Free at '06 NCAAs] "I was tired, but I fought through it to get to the wall."
[On breaking Tom Dolan's 500 yd Free American Record at '06 NCAAs] “I’m happy that the record is still in the Michigan family. It was a tough record for Tom to do 10 years ago, it was pretty special for him back then and for me to be right on it and barely go faster is pretty special for me right now.”
[On winning the 500-yard freestyle] "I felt like it was just another 500. I just wanted to take it out strong and not too hard. The field was deep and there are some good swimmers in there, so I knew once I started pulling away I must be moving pretty quickly. I just tried to bring it home as fast as possible."
[On being an American holder] "It feels really good, but I don't really feel any different.''
[On breaking the 500 Free American Record at '06 NCAAs] "I looked up, and, first, I had to double-check in my head that I went under the record. But once I realized that I'd done it, I was really happy."
[On having brother Alex also swim the 500 Free final at '06 NCAAs] "It meant a lot for me to have him swimming next to me."
2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
[On his 400 Free final at the 2005 World Champs] "It didn’t go as well as this morning, but it still felt like I had my race. Maybe the race this morning took a lot out of me, I’m not too sure. That probably had something to do with it. I wanted to go in there and race. I tried to race the guy next to me.’’
[On his 400 Free prelim at 2005 World Champs] "It felt all right. It was a good morning swim. I’m happy with it. It was a good race.’’
[On his 200 Free semi at 2005 Worlds] "I felt good tonight. I tried to outtake Michael and tried to hold on. It is an opportunity of a lifetime for me to train with the best in the world. I tried to take as much advantage as I could."
[On his 200 Free prelim at 2005 Worlds] "I am happy with it. I got to the semis, I swam well.”
MISC. QUOTES:
"I considered myself an underdog not being one of the most recruited guys in my class. Things have really changed since high school.''
"My accomplishments have changed my perspective with what I want to do with the rest of my swimming career.''
"I've been swimming for so long that adapting to the pressure has just become natural for me."
"I think the racing at practice works out well because it helps us to push each other to succeed."
[On his hometown welcome after the Athens Olympics] "I wasn't expecting anything this crazy. It's incredible."
[Addressing the crowd at his hometown parade after the Athens Olympics] "An accomplishment like this is really meaningless unless I have friends and family to share it with."
"When you like to compete and race and it pays off it's easier. I never thought about quitting swimming."
"Without success it's really hard to keep going."
2005 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP QUOTES:
[On winning the 500-yard freestyle] "The race went exactly the way I wanted it to. I stuck to the game plan and it was my best time by a couple of seconds. I was pretty happy with the race overall."
[On possibly breaking the record] "I was trying to go for it, but I can't complain being only a second off. It is a pretty good record."
[On his race strategy] "I tried to go out smooth but not too slow and just hammer the last half of the race. In the prelims, I tried to keep it smooth and not use all my energy."
[On the remainder of the championships] "Hopefully I can do as well as I did in this race in the next two races. It's looking good so far."
2004 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
[On his 1,650 yd Free win at the 2004 Big Ten Champs] "It was so good, but I lost my cap halfway through. That tends to happen to me a lot, so I get used to it. I wanted to go out there and try to cruise, but I had to save some energy because I have another relay later tonight."
[On his 400 yd IM win at 2004 Big Ten Champs] "It feels great to just go out there and get some points for the team. We're behind a little bit and we have some making up to do, so I'm just trying to do what I can."
[On winning his second race of the '04 Big Ten Champs meet] "I just wanted to go out there and race. It was anyone's race, so I went out there, tried my hardest, came out with the win, and I was happy with it."
[On what's next after the '04 Big Ten Champs] "The NCAAs, then Olympic Trials. The season is just beginning for a lot of us. There are five guys on our roster that are not shaved for this meet, so we all have a little left in the tank. It is really something to come in here and do what we did."
[On former head coach Jon Urbanchek] "Jon is a great guy. I am very happy I had the opportunity to swim under him. I would rather have two years of swimming for him than four years of swimming under someone else. He is a great coach and we still have the NCAAs and Olympics with him as our leader."
Quotes about Peter
[On Peter's race strategy in the 500-yard freestyle at 2005 NCAA's]. "He did pretty much everything we wanted him to. I told him that he'd have more speed than anybody else and that he should take it out aggressively and just keep going. That's what he did." - Coach Bob Bowman
[On Peter's performance throughout the 2005 NCAA's] "Peter's time (in the 1,650-yard freestyle) was his best time by nine seconds and I'm very happy with that. He had to swim a lot of races this weekend and he came through when we needed him. Peter is the ironman. He swims all of the tough events, he is the lynchpin of all our relays, so he's our go-to guy. Every time we ask, he always comes through." - Coach Bob Bowman
"Vanderkaay really is nothing but awesome. He has the best attitude - and performances to match." - Former coach Jon Urbanchek
"He's an exceptional boy. All grandparents say that, don't they?" - Jacqueline Brooks, Peter's grandmother
"I'm just thrilled. He is such a hard worker. That, in my opinion, is the hardest record in the books, so for him to break that is a very significant accomplishment. He just did such a great job. It's very hard sometimes to swim at that level when you're just by yourself and nobody's pushing you. It's a really a credit to him that he hung in there and stayed with it." - Coach Bob Bowman on Pete's 500 yd Free win at '06 NCAAs
“Those two guys have been my rock at Michigan. I don’t know if I’ll ever find as good of guys or as good of friends like them. Words can’t describe what it means to be able to go out with them. It’s been an honor to swim with them.” - Davis Tarwater on classmates Chris DeJong and Peter Vanderkaay after '06 NCAAs
"He was someone I wanted to coach the first time I heard about him. He's a coach's dream.'' - Coach Bob Bowman
"He has a good gauge of himself. Whether he's feeling bad, tired or feeling good, he'll always show up for a meet. It's amazing how well he knows himself and how he can handle adversity.'' - Coach Bob Bowman
"It was so special that Peter could do that in front of so many people and have his brother at his side." - Mother, Robin, on Pete breaking the 500 yd Free American Record at '06 NCAAs
»Back
|
