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, were 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, Gwinnett County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. Its population was 20,573 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and ...

. 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. History The city of Lilburn was founded i ...

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

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

(GPA).

College career

Shanteau attended

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, where he was an 11-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for the Auburn Tigers swimming and diving 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 coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, 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, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. 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 c ...

, 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 officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Shanteau placed second to

Mark Gangloff Mark Daniel Gangloff (born June 8, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer for Auburn University, and was an Olympic gold medalist as a breaststroker in the 4x100 medley relay in both the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is a ...

in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 59.45. In the 200-meter individual medley, Shanteau placed second to

Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. He is the third-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by total number of medals, behind only Michael Phelps and Kat ...

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, 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 () or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. This was the second time the championships were held in the city after being previously hosted in 1994 World Aq ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. 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 swimming (sport), swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic Games, Oly ...

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 me ...

and David Walters, 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 List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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''. 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 quarterly 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'' (kn ...

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

References

External links

* * * * * {{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 Swimmers from Austin, Texas Sportspeople from Snellville, Georgia 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 Summer World University Games medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Lilburn, Georgia FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2003 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade 21st-century American sportsmen