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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. 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 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. 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 Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. The population was 18,242 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 20,077. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metro ...

. He attended Parkview High School in

Lilburn, Georgia Lilburn is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population was 14,502 at the 2020 census. The estimated population was 12,810 in 2019. It is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Geography Lilburn is located in western Gw ...

, where he became a national swimming champion while maintaining a perfect 4.0

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

(GPA).

College career

Shanteau attended

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, where he was an 11-time All-American for the

Auburn Tigers swimming and diving The Auburn Tigers swimming and diving program is Auburn University's representative in the sport of swimming and diving. The Tigers compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 and are members of the Southeastern Conf ...

team. 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 Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, Shanteau placed third in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events, just missing a place on the Olympic roster in both events. Shanteau also placed eleventh in the 200-meter breaststroke.

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 } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. The week before, Shanteau was informed that he had

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an u ...

, but chose to compete in the meet regardless. He competed in the 200-meter breaststroke at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, where, despite missing the finals by thirteen one-hundredths (0.13) of a second, 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.

2009

At the 2009 U.S. National Championships and World Championship Trials in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, Shanteau placed second to Mark Gangloff in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 59.45. In the 200-meter individual medley, Shanteau placed second to Ryan Lochte with a time of 1:56.00, making him the third fastest performer ever in that event. Shanteau won the 200-meter breaststroke final in 2:08.01, breaking his own American record he set in the preliminaries of the meet. All of Shanteau's final times in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

were personal bests, and he qualified to swim all three of his individual events at the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. At the World Championships in

, Shanteau placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:07.65), third in the 200-meter individual medley (1:55.36), and fourth in the 100-meter breaststroke (58.98). Shanteau was also part of the U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team

Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...

and

David Walters David Lee Walters (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician who was the 24th governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995. Born in Canute, Oklahoma, Walters was a project manager for Governor David Boren and the youngest executive officer ...

, which won the gold medal in a new world record of 3:27.28.

2012 Olympic Games

At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, 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

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 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

Awards

* Golden Goggle Award, Perseverance Award: 2008"Michael Phelps wins 3 Golden Goggle Awards"
''

Taiwan News ''Taiwan News'' (formerly ''China News'') is an English-language online newspaper in Taiwan. It is owned by foods company I-Mei Foods, which also publishes the Chinese-language news weekly of the same name. History ''China News'' was founded ...

''. November 18, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2022. * Golden Goggle Award, Athlete Humanitarian Award: 2012"Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin Win Athletes of the Year at Golden Goggles"
''

Swimming World ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...

''. November 19, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2022.

References

External links

*
archive
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shanteau, Eric 1983 births Living people American male breaststroke swimmers American male medley swimmers Auburn Tigers men's swimmers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Sportspeople from Austin, Texas People from Snellville, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World record holders in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in swimming People from Lilburn, Georgia Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2003 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade 21st-century American people