July 24, 2012
LONDON -- Four members of the Texas Men's Swimming family are chasing gold at the 2012 Olympics. Ricky Berens, Jimmy Feigen and Brendan Hansen represent Team USA, while Christian Schurr is competing for Mexico.
In addition, Texas head coach Eddie Reese will serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. men's swimming team in London.
Hansen, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, came out of retirement in 2011 and punctuated his return to swimming by capturing the 100m breaststroke title at the Olympic Trials in June.
Berens finished third at the Olympic Trials in the 200m freestyle to qualify for the Olympics in that event. He will also swim as part of the 4x100m and 4x200m relay teams. Berens won a gold medal in 2008 as part of the 4x200 relay.
Feigen, who recently ended his UT career with NCAA championships in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races, is competing in his first Olympiad. Feigen finished fifth in the 100m freestyle at the Olympic Trials and was added to the relay pool for the 4x100m.
Schurr, a former UT All-American, will represent Mexico in the 200m breaststroke. He qualified for his first Olympics by winning the 200m breaststroke at the 2012 Speedo Grand Challenge.
The Olympic swimming events will be contested Saturday, July 28 through Saturday, Aug. 4 at the Aquatics Centre in Olympic Park. For complete TV coverage information, please visit NBCOlympics.com.
Competition Schedule (all times Central):
Saturday, July 28
5:52 a.m. - Brendan Hansen (100m Breaststroke heats)
2:30 p.m. - Brendan Hansen (100m Breaststroke semifinals)
Sunday, July 29
4:20 a.m. - Ricky Berens (200m Freestyle heats)
6:05 a.m. - Ricky Berens, Jimmy Feigen (4x100m Freestyle Relay qualifying)
1:37 p.m. - Ricky Berens (200m Freestyle semifinals)
2:08 p.m. - Brendan Hansen (100m Breaststroke Final)
2:54 p.m. - 4x100m Freestyle Relay Final
Monday, July 30
1:41 p.m. - Ricky Berens (200m Freestyle Final)
Tuesday, July 31
4:47 a.m. - Christian Schurr (200m Breaststroke heats)
5:17 a.m. - Ricky Berens (4x200m Freestyle Relay qualifying)
2:17 p.m. - Christian Schurr (200m Breaststroke semifinals)
2:47 p.m. - 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final
Wednesday, Aug. 1
1:30 p.m. - Christian Schurr (200m Breaststroke Final)
Friday, Aug. 3
6:04 a.m. - Brendan Hansen (4x100m Medley Relay qualifying)
Saturday, Aug. 4
2:27 p.m. - Brendan Hansen (4x100m Medley Relay Final)
Ricky Berens - AT A GLANCE
Event(s): 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle relay, 800m freestyle relay
Road to London: Finished third at Olympic Trials in 200 freestyle (1:45.56); Fourth in 100 freestyle (48.80)
Olympics history: 2008 - gold, 800m freestyle relay
Career highlights: Won gold as part of the 800m freestyle relay at the 2011 FINA World Championships ... Placed third in the 200m free and eighth in the 100m free at the 2011 ConocoPhillips National Championships ... earned a gold medal and set a world record as a member of the 800m free relay at the 2009 FINA World Championships ... won two bronze medals at the 2009 NCAA Championships in the 200y IM and 200y free ... earned a gold medal and set a world record in the 800m freestyle relay at the 2008 Olympic Games
Jimmy Feigen - AT A GLANCE
Event: 400m freestyle relay
Road to London: Finished fifth in 100m freestyle at Olympic Trials (21.93)
Olympics history: This marks his first Olympiad
Career highlights: Won the 50y and 100y freestyle at the 2012 NCAA Championships ... Collected three medals at the 2011 World University Games, including gold in the 100m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay and silver in the 4x100m medley relay ... finished second in the 50m and 100m freestyle at the 2011 ConocoPhillips National Championships
BRENDAN HANSEN - AT A GLANCE
Event: 100m breaststroke
Road to London: Won 100m breaststroke at Olympic Trials (59.68)
Olympics history: 2004 - gold, 400m medley relay (WR); silver, 100m breaststroke; bronze, 200m breaststroke 2008 - gold, 400m medley relay; fourth, 100m breaststroke
Career highlights: Won the 100m and 200m breast at the 2011 ConocoPhillips National Championships ... Earned a gold and set a world record in the 400m medley relay at the 2008 Olympic Games; also placed fourth in the 100m breast ... Qualified for the 2008 Olympics by placing first in the 100m breast at Trials ... won gold in the 100m and silver in the 50m breast at the 2007 FINA World Championships ... in 2006, set three world records in the span of 20 days in August, breaking the 100m breast WR once and the 200m breast WR twice ... won three medals (gold, silver, bronze) at the 2004 Olympic Games ... was a triple gold medalist at the 2006 Pan Pacifics and 2005 World Championships ... first international medal was gold in the 200m breast at the 2001 World Champs ... while swimming for UT was the NCAA champion in the 100 and 200 breast all four years
CHRISTIAN SCHURR - AT A GLANCE
Event(s): 200m Breaststroke (Mexico)
Road to London: Won the 200m breastroke at the 2012 Speedo Grand Challenge
Olympics history: This marks his first Olympiad.
