On Sunday, August 24th, the 2008 games in Beijing came to an end for Peter Vanderkaay and the hundreds of other international athletes who participated in the closing ceremonies. After competing in three events throughout his stay in Beijing, Peter headed home with two medals – a bronze in the 200-meter individual freestyle and a gold in the
4 x 200-meter freestyle relay.

We caught up with Peter after his arrival back in the U.S. to congratulate him on these amazing accomplishments and to ask him about his most memorable Beijing moments. Without a doubt, one of the highlights of his journey was winning the bronze medal in the 200-meter freestyle race, which Peter described as one of the greatest accomplishments of his career. “The field of competition was extremely deep and I am very happy that I could take an individual medal home,” Peter explained. Another exhilarating moment was being part of the team that broke the world record in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay – the first to finish in less than 7 minutes. Peter, who swam the anchor leg of the race, said he was proud to have been part of the team that made swimming history.

Besides the incredible excitement surrounding his swimming competitions, Peter was also able to do some sightseeing and was struck by the beauty of Beijing and by the kindness of its people. “Beijing is an amazing city, but the best part in my opinion has been the Chinese people. They were so eager to help travelers and make sure everyone was enjoying the games. I really can’t say enough about how nice they have been here.“

On the medal stand, asthma was the last thing on Peter’s mind and he is glad that he never let his condition stop him from working toward his dreams. Despite his asthma, Peter has become one of America’s most inspirational swimmers. And as an athlete who has worked diligently to keep his asthma under control throughout his career, Peter is eager to continue on his mission to raise awareness about controlling the disease to help encourage other asthma patients to work with their doctors to help achieve asthma control.

Peter continues to have a great passion for swimming, and the 2012 games in London are now on the horizon. But for now, Peter plans to take some time off to get some well deserved rest and enjoy the results of years of hard work – a bronze and gold medal.

Congratulations, Peter!

Peter Vanderkaay is heading to Beijing! After breaking the American record in the men’s 400-meter freestyle at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix swimming meet earlier this year, Peter traveled to the national trials in Omaha and qualified to represent the United States in Beijing. At this time he is scheduled to race in four events: the 200-, 400-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay. After the Omaha trials, The U.S. Men’s Swim team traveled to Singapore to continue their training and begin to acclimate themselves to the time difference prior to traveling to Beijing.

When reflecting on his outstanding performance during the 1500-meter race in Omaha where he finished nearly 3 seconds ahead of his opponents, Peter said that he surprised himself. “I went into the race with a positive attitude and felt strong from start to finish. I couldn’t tell how far I was in front of the next guy, but knew that I was finishing solidly.” Since that day, the momentum hasn’t slowed down as Peter continues to train in Singapore to be as ready as possible to compete against the world’s greatest swimmers.

Peter has come a long way since his asthma diagnosis over a decade ago and he feels a sense of accomplishment knowing that he hasn’t let his condition get in the way of his dreams. When we asked Peter if he was concerned about the reports of poor air quality in Beijing, he was not worried. “I’ve spoken with my doctor about managing my asthma while in Beijing. We know there may be different air quality there, so we’ve taken the proper precautions to ensure I’m able to perform at my best. I plan on sticking to my regular routine even though I’m out of my usual environment.”

Aside from his swim suits and team uniforms, Peter packed lightly for his trip to Beijing. “I don’t have any special good luck charms, but some of my family and friends are traveling over for the events so that will be great. I am unbelievably excited to represent the United States in Beijing. I can hardly wait for the events to begin!”

Good luck Peter!

It is early in the morning, and Peter Vanderkaay is at the University of Michigan pool where he is training for this summer’s biggest international swimming event. Before he starts today’s rigorous practice schedule, Peter is taking some time to talk about his involvement with the asthma education Web site, ASTHMyths.com.

He has recently returned from the Santa Clara International Grand Prix swimming meet where he set the new American record in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, clocking 3:43.82. This is the kind of accomplishment that he never thought possible when he was first diagnosed with asthma at age 10. “[The diagnosis] came as a shock,” he said. “But with support from my family, doctor/doctors, coaches and friends, I have been able to manage my asthma and pursue my dreams.” Raising awareness about asthma control is what Peter is hoping to do with ASTHMyths.com, a Web site specifically designed to help educate people about the myths and facts of asthma.

When asked about his current training regimen as he prepares for this summer’s competition, Peter said that he is lifting weights and running three times a week, in addition to swimming 6 days a week. “I am not really changing my training routine for this summer. It really comes down to trying to control the little things, like getting the proper amount of sleep and eating a proper diet. And, of course, I also work with my doctor to help keep my asthma under control,” reported Peter.

Peter also mentioned that he was pleasantly surprised when he broke the American record in the men’s 400-meter freestyle event in Santa Clara. “I didn’t think I would be breaking any records this early on in my preparation for this summer’s competition,” he said. “I have been trying to focus only on getting ready for the June trials in Omaha, so breaking a record in California was really thrilling and a good sign for the trials. I hope I can keep this momentum going throughout the summer.”

Peter Vanderkaay is no ordinary swimmer. This rising star in world-class swimming has lived with asthma since he was diagnosed with the disease as a child. But you would never know it from watching Peter train intensively as he focuses on qualifying for what is arguably the biggest event of any swimmer’s career.

Asthma did not keep this young competitor from becoming a member of Team USA in 2004 and being an important part of the record-breaking relay team. Today, Peter is hopeful that he can perform even better in China this summer. With competition of this level only coming around once every four years for swimmers, this year has the potential to represent a huge milestone for him.

We caught up with Peter in March between his morning and afternoon practice and asked him about breaking his own American record in the 500-yard freestyle competition — with a time of 4:08:54 — during the Michigan Open at Oakland University. “I hadn’t swam the 500 very much since my college days, so to go back and do that in front of a home crowd was definitely very exciting for me,” commented Vanderkaay, who hails from Rochester, Michigan, and attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he still trains with Club Wolverine. These past triumphs in the pool continue to fuel Peter’s drive to succeed in each and every competition.

But even record-breaking, elite athletes like Peter Vanderkaay deal with medical challenges. A few weeks before we sat down with Peter, he was experiencing a period of increased asthma symptoms, and that made it a bit harder for him to compete at top levels at the Missouri Grand Prix in February. “I was obviously disappointed that I couldn’t race as well as I wanted to,” said Vanderkaay. “But it put things in perspective and actually made me work even harder leading up to the trials.” By working with his doctor and coach as well as taking care of himself, Peter is now fully recovered — in time for the heavy training season leading up to the qualifying trials in Omaha, Nebraska, this June.

Peter is optimistic that the hard work he’s put in training will pay off and lead to good things in August at the ultimate international event. “Things are looking good right now,” he reported. “Obviously, I have to keep that up for the next couple of months, because no one is a lock to make the team. But I am excited, and I like the pressure of the coming months. I know it can be kind of hectic at times, but, you know, this is the year of swimming for us.”