By: G8R8U2

Gators and former Gators are making a great showing so far. Dara Torres, a former Gator swimmer, is, at 41, a member of the U.S. team for her 5th Olympic games. American Dara Torres chalked up a first for the over-40s on Sunday when she became the oldest athlete to win an Olympic swimming medal.

“The water doesn’t really know what age you are, so it doesn’t really matter when you hit the water what age you are,” the 41-year-old said after anchoring the U.S. team to 4×100 meters freestyle relay silver. Torres’ split of 52.44 was the second-fastest of all swimmers in the 4×100m final.

No other swimmer has won an Olympic swimming medal beyond the age of 40 and Torres also equaled the all-time women’s record held by German canoeist Birgit Fischer of winning Olympic medals over a 24 years span.

The first U.S. swimmer to compete in five Olympics, Torres has a two-year-old daughter and has twice come out of retirement to add to her medal collection.
The 10th of her Olympic career came 24 years after she won her first gold in the same event at the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Games, before most of her rivals at the Water Cube were born.

In the 50-meter free, Torres earned her 11th medal in American Record speed, with a time of 24.07, good for the silver medal.. Torres wrapped up Olympic swimming action for the Gators as the freestyle anchor leg of the U.S 4×100-meter medley relay that finished second in silver medal fashion with an American Record time of 3:53.30. Torres earned her 12th Olympic medal as she swam a split of 52.27 in attempts to hunt down Australian freestyle swimmer Lisbeth Trickett, who owns the fastest 100 free relay split in history.

Torres Olympic career at a glance:

Dara Torres, USA Swimming
Los Angeles 1984 1 Gold
Seoul 1988 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Barcelona 1992 1 Gold
Sydney 2000 2 Gold, 3 Bronze
Beijing 2008 3 Silver

Ryan Lochte, who was just competing for UF this past season, has also had a big Olympiad… his second. He took the 400m individual medley bronze in 4:08.09. Fellow U.S. teammate Michael Phelps took the gold in the world-record time of 4:03.84, while Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh Hungary was second in 4:06.16. At the 2004 Olympics, Lochte claimed a relay gold as a member of the 4×200 free team and the silver for the 200 IM.

Lochte also claimed Gold as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay team this time, alongside U.S. teammates Michael Phelps, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay. The quartet smashed the World Record with a time of 6:58.56 becoming the first 800-meter freestyle relay to ever swim under the seven minute mark. Lochte split 1:44.28 as the second leg of the relay, swimming the third-fastest split in the final heat of the event behind Phelps and Filippo Magnini of Italy.

Lochte rallied for his first-ever individual Olympic gold medal, complete with a new World Record in the final heat of the men’s 200-meter backstroke Thursday at the Water Cube in Beijing. Lochte clocked in at a World Record time of 1:53.94, surpassing backstroke foe and U.S. teammate Aaron Peirsol, who captured silver with a 1:54.33 swim. Arkady Vyatchann of Russia (1:54.93) rounded out the top-three medalists.

Approximately a half hour later, Lochte took to the water once again in the final heat of the men’s 200-meter IM, his last individual race of the 2008 Olympic Games and the event in which he claimed silver at the 2004 Games in Athens. Lochte registered a third-place bronze medal finish (1:56.53) behind second-place Laszlo Cseh of Hungary (1:56.52) and gold-medal winner, U.S. teammate Michael Phelps (1:54.23 WR). Lochte was barely out-touched by Cseh with only one one-hundredth-of-a-second separating the silver and bronze medal performances.

Lochte’s Olympic career at a glance:

Athens 2004 1 Gold, 1 Silver
Beijing 2008 2 Gold (2 World Records), 2 Bronze

Caroline Burckle illuminated the swimming and diving field for UF athletes, reeling in her first ever Olympic medal, earning bronze as a member of the women’s 800-meter free relay.

After swimming a lifetime best 1:57.86 200-meter free split as the first leg of the prelim bunch, Burckle secured a spot on the Wednesday evening relay final team alongside U.S. standouts Allison Schmitt, Natalie Coughlin and Katie Hoff. The quartet raced to a third-place, bronze medal finish, tapping in at 7:46.33 behind second place China (7:45.93) and gold medalist Australia (7:44.31 WR). Burckle swam the third leg of the relay in the final showdown, again lowering her 200 free split to a lifetime best 1:56.70 and recording the second-fastest split on the U.S. team behind Hoff’s 1:54.73. A very promising start for a young Gator in her first Olympiad.

The University Of Florida is known for two things. Championships education. And championship sport’s programs. While education is the main focus at the university; athletics isn’t far behind.  And with great reason too.  Whether it is football, basketball, softball, swimming, or volleyball;  The University of Florida has vastly become a haven for student athletes to garner championships and accolades. Both on and of the field.

While the actions of the teams on the field and court are widely publicized, for obvious reasons,  it is off the field and court where The Gators really like to shine.   Most notably at the children’s hospital.  Where the student athletes truly become champions.  Week after week throughout the year different Gator sports teams take time to go and visit sick children and their families at Shands Children Hospital week after week you see the faces of children light up as their favorite team’s players come to visit them.   Whether it be the most famous of Gator athletes such as Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin to the much lesser know athletes such as Lady Gator Tennis players  Julia Cohen and Megan Alexander; the smiles always seem to be the same.  And that is the goal.   To brighten a child’s day with social interaction that doesn’t involve the words medicine or shot.  To take a child’s mind off of nurses and doctor’s.

Even though these student athletes are extremely busy, they realize that it doesn’t take long to make a sick child and their family feel better.   To make themselves feel better.   Because even if it only lasts two minutes its great to know that it means the world to a sick child and his/her family to see that their favorite players from their favorite team aren’t to busy to come out and show support for them just like the children and their families show support for The Gators each and every time they step out onto the field or court.   While it might take a trophy to declare you a champion; at The University of Florida it takes more then just sports.

Hey everybody! If your reading this post, please take 5 seconds to click this link and vote Gainesville, FL as titletown USA. Follow the link below and it should give the list of the top 20 places to vote for. So look for Gainesville and let’s have your vote!!! Do it for them Gators!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/titletown/index

Gainseville, Florida is one of the Nation’s top cities to be named as “Titletown USA”. WHY should Gainesville be the next TitleTown? Just look at what the Gator Basketball teams accomplished in 2006 and 2007. Back to back Basketball Championships and a Football Championship in the same year. Not to mention the Softball team broke an incredible NCAA record by reaching 70 wins this year, and our Volleyball team winning 17 straight SEC Championships. Also, look at how much the Gator baseball team improved. From falling in a huge slump last year, to hiring a new coach “O’Sullivan” and defeating key teams such as Miami, Georgia and LSU, the Gator Baseball team is well on its way back to national prominence. The University Of Florida is an awesome place to be, and it gives you goose bumps every time you go to a game and hear the Gator fight song. “WE’RE GATOR NATION, IT’S EVERY WHERE!” Why should Florida NOT be selected as USA’s TitleTown?

Leah Martindale-Stancil is a 2002 Gator graduate and was a great on the swim team. She will be returning to the Gators, not to swim, but coach. She will become assistant coach that was announced by Greg Troy at the swimming program on Tuesday. Stancil has been at South Carolina for the past couple years coaching and will join the Gators for the start of the 2008-09 season in August. Stancil is a 12-time NCAA All-American, two-time Olympian and a four-time national record holder for her native country. Also a member of the 2002 championship team. The Gators are really looking forward into having Leah Martindale Stencil aboard.