LONDON, England – Former University of Hawai'i swimmer Melanie Schlanger and her Australian teammates captured gold and broke the Olympic record in the 4x100m freestyle on Saturday at the Aquatics Center at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Schlanger swam the anchor leg in the record-breaking race, propelling the Australians to the gold with a time of 3:33.15. She held off Ranomi Kromowidjoj of The Netherlands over the final 100 meters to secure Australia's first gold medal of the Olympics.
Even greater was that Schlanger wasn't even swimming as recent as 18 months ago when an illness forced an early retirement. She would eventually return to the pool, culminating her efforts with the gold medal. Schlanger swam for the Rainbow Wahine during the 2004-05 season and the first half of her sophomore year in 2005-06.
The Netherlands captured silver with the United States earning the bronze.
-UH-