Community Corner

Rochester Adams Grad Peter Vanderkaay Wins Olympics Bronze

It's the second medal for Team USA on the first day of the London Summer Olympics games.

Peter Vanderkaay, a 2002 graduate of Rochester Adams High School, has won a bronze medal in the Summer Olympics Games in London.

Vanderkaay, of Rochester Hills, swam a 3:44:69 in the 400-meter freestyle swim event on Saturday afternoon. Sun Yang of China won the gold medal; Park Taehwan of South Korea took silver. 

Vanderkaay is the captain of the U.S. Swim team.  Olympic medalist (two gold, two bronze). This is his third consecutive trip to the summer Olympics.

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“I’m still kind of caught up in it,” Vanderkaay told the Detroit Free Press. “Just feeling good in my race was something that really stands out today.

Vanderkaay trained with the Oakland Live Y’ers in Rochester before swimming for the University of Michigan. On Saturday afternoon, the swim club posted this on their website: "Vanderkaay wins bronze in the 400!! Peter Vanderkaay wins a bronze medal in the 400 free tonight at the London Olympics! Congratulations to Peter on his second individual Olympic medal!!"

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Vanderkaay was shown, livecast, during the medals ceremony about an hour after the race, wearing bright yellow shoes and, of course, the bronze medal around his neck. In the crowd, fans were seen wearing special celebratory t-shirts with a "Vanderkaay USA" design as a fundraiser for a Detroit YMCA swim program. You can still order the shirts through July 30 here.


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