University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Swimming - Olympic Tradition
October 05, 2000 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Olympic Orange: International Tradition Continues in 2000 Games
	The Olympic exploits of Vol swimmers through the years is indeed one of the cornerstones of UT's grand swimming tradition.
	Tennessee's success on the international scene is clearly outlined by the presence of at least one Volunteer athlete or coach on every U.S. Olympic Swim Team from 1972-1996. Others have seen service as part of teams from around the globe, faring well in the rugged international waters and enhancing Tennessee's already lengthy Olympic tradition. Four such athletes qualified for the Olympics in 2000. Returning for their third Olympiad are Diving Coach Dave Parrington and Evan Stewart representing Zimbabwe, Ricky Busquets representing Puerto Rico and Gabi Chereches representing Romania. Kyle Smerdon of Canada and Andrew Bree of Ireland will each make their first Olympic appearance.
	All told, UT swimmers and divers have returned with seven Olympic gold medals, two silvers and a bronze since the program earned its first medal in 1972. Vols have climbed the medal platform in five of the last seven Olympiads.
	Tennessee's customary Olympic success is indeed one of the Volunteer program's proudest traditions, one which was advanced at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. The 1996 Atlanta Games provided a benchmark in the international history of Tennessee swimming as five Volunteers, two former, two current and one future, participated in nine events and picked up two golds and two silvers against the toughest of international competition, the most that the Volunteers have earned in any one Summer Games.
	Junior Jeremy Linn made his first appearance in the Olympic Games, while senior Evan Stewart took his second trip to the competition. Ricky Busquets, a 1996 Vol graduate who was named SEC Swimmer of the Year his senior year, and 1993 grad Tripp Schwenk joined Stewart as two-time members of the Olympic field.
	Linn wowed the hometown crowd with a silver medal performance in the 100-meter breaststroke. World record holder Fred Deburghgraeve of Belgium narrowly edged Linn to the wall, but the Harrisburg, Pa., native had an American Record time of 1:00.77 and one of the first United States medals of 1996. Linn then helped the United States cap off its astonishing Olympic run by teaming with Jeff Rouse, Mark Henderson and Gary Hall, Jr. to blister the eight-year World Record in the 400 medley relay, besting it by more than two seconds with a time of 3:34.84. The Vol senior played no small part in the record time, as he sped to the fastest 100 meter breaststroke in history. While his split of 1:00.32 does not qualify for a record, it placed Linn on track toward the first sub-one minute 100 breast time in history.
	Competing in two individual races for the first time in his Olympic career, Schwenk finished fifth in the 100-meter backstroke in 55.30 and second in the 200-meter back with a time of 1:58.99. He also added a gold medal to his trophy case by leading off the United States qualifying effort in the 400 medley relay. The silver was Schwenk's first Olympic medal, as he finished fifth in the 200-meter competition at Barcelona in 1992.
	Busquets took part in three individual events, qualifying for the championship finals in the 50 and 100-meter freestyles and for the consolation finals 100-meter butterfly. The Ponce, Puerto Rico, native claimed seventh in the 100-meter race (49.68) and an eighth-place performance in the 50-meter contest (22.73). Busquets took fourth in the consolation finals of the 100-meter fly by getting to the wall in 53.65.
	Led by UT diving mentor Dave Parrington, who was named head coach of his native Zimbabwe diving team, senior Evan Stewart finished 13th in qualifying for the three-meter diving competition. The senior finished with a qualifying score of 567.96, missing the finals by a mere 2.19 points.
	By placing four athletes in the 1996 Olympiad, John Trembley's Tennessee program stayed on course toward fulfilling one of its top mission priorities. In addition to producing successful students who consistently challenge for conference and national accolades, the 10th-year Vol mentor stresses the development of international-quality talent as one of the team's most important goals.
	Under Trembley's watchful eye, no less than 11 Vols have advanced to Olympic competition. The list is headed by two-time United States Olympian and two-time gold medalist Melvin Stewart. Busquets, Schwenk and Evan Stewart join him as two-time competitors, while Ray Brown, Greg Burgess, J.R. DeSouza, Lars Jorgensen, Linn, Geri Mewett and Sal Vassallo each saw a single Olympic tour of duty under Trembley's tuteledge.
	Dave Edgar, known as the "Fastest Man Afloat," became the first athlete from the University of Tennessee to take home an Olympic medal. Edgar won gold as a member of the World Record setting 400 freestyle relay team at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Edgar led off the race with a time of 52.69 as the U.S. recorded a final time of 3:26.42.
	Matt Vogel wasted little time in following Edgar's example in 1976. That year in Montreal, he won the 100-meter butterfly by getting to the wall in 54.35. He then did Edgar one better, as he helped break the 400 medley relay World Record with a time of 3:42.22. By virtue of that victory, Vogel became the first Vol athlete to win a pair of Olympic golds.
	Former Tennessee head swimming coach Ray Bussard, who possesses a career record of 252-20 in 21 years on The Hill, was chosen to serve as an assistant coach at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Bussard, who had long been highly recognized on the national swimming scene, coached the American sprint corps.
	Melvin Stewart, who was the first UT swimmer to compete in two Olympic Games, saw action in both the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea and the 92 edition in Barcelona, Spain. He struck gold in the 200 butterfly at the 92 Games by setting an Olympic record time of 1:56.26. He earned a second gold medal as part of the U.S. 400 medley relay team and a bronze on the 800 freestyle relay team.
