Tom Malchow

Thomas Andrew Malchow (born August 18, 1976), is an American retired competition swimmer who set a world record in the 200-meter butterfly in 2000, and was a 200-meter butterfly gold medalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He competed for the University of Michigan, represented the U.S. in three Olympics from 1996-2004, and won a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Early swimming with Star Swim Team He began swimming early, to reduce the effects of chronic childhood asthma which later would be punctuated with bouts of pneumonia and occasional hospitalizations. From as early as seven years, he trained with Coach Paul Lundsten of the Star Swimming team, a member of United States Swimming, founded in 1980 by Lundsten and his wife Sue in greater St. Paul. Having trained for several years with the Star Team, on August 10, 1990, in the 13-14 age group, he placed first in the Boy's 100 butterfly at the United States Swimming (USS) Central Zone Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota, with a 1:01.53.

Saint Thomas Academy A tall but slim youngster, Malchow played both basketball and baseball in grade school where he was not a top performer, but excelled early and more notably in swimming. His adolescent growth spurts caused joint pain and casting of his knees, which prompted one of his doctors to recommend that Malchow focus on swimming and end his participation in higher impact sports like basketball and baseball. He attended high school at the nearby Saint Thomas Academy, a private all-male Catholic military school, where he swam for the strong program led by Head Coach Steve Stewart, who coached from 1991 to 1998. Stewart had a winning percentage of 85.6% in prep school league dual meets during his eight-year career with Saint Thomas, the second highest of any listed St. Thomas Academy coach. In regular conference play during Malchow's freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years, St. Thomas went a combined 34-6, and went undefeated his senior year at 10-0. Coach Stewart's 1995 St. Thomas State Championship team started a winning dynasty, with St. Thomas winning the Minnesota Swimming and Diving team championship for fifteen successive years. Coach John Barnes, who succeeded Coach Stewart won 11 successive victories beginning in 1998 when he succeeded Stewart.

High school swimming achievements Competing for the Saint Thomas Academy swim team, Malchow was state champion in varying years in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and 100 butterfly, though his primary objective would soon be to perform well in national not state or regional meets. In the 1993 Minnesota State Championship, Malchow won the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:41.83, and the 100-yard butterfly with a 49.89. Summarizing his years at St. Thomas, Malchow established seven school records, seven conference records, and two state records.

University of Michigan

Malchow attended the University of Michigan on an athletic scholarship beginning in the fall of 1995, graduating in 1999, where he trained and competed under Hall of Fame Head Coach Jon Urbanchek, a former competitive swimmer for the university where he had won the one-mile NCAA freestyle championship in 1961. Urbanchek's prior experience competing in freestyle distance events, and his innovative coaching approach to improving stroke technique and cautiously increasing training intensity would benefit Malchow during his time at Michigan. As one of the best swim team scholars, Malchow maintained a 3.23 grade point average through his senior year, while majoring in sports management. A co-captain in his senior year, Malchow was a Big Ten Conference Champion seven-times, an All American seven times, a 1997 NCAA champion in the 200 fly and as part of the 800 free relay, and a 1998 NCAA champion in the 200 butterfly.

In preparation for the Olympics, Malchow swam as much as 18,000 meters a day, usually doing mostly freestyle sets to improve his endurance. He needed extra endurance to compensate for his turns, one of his weaknesses where he often lost time, particularly to elite world-ranked competitors. The lack of turns in Olympic competition became one of his strengths, as Olympic meets were held in 50 meter "long course" pools, rather than 25 meter pools.

International competition highlights At the Charlotte Ultra-Swim in Charlotte, North Carolina, on June 17, 2000, Malchow established a new world record in the 200-meter butterfly of 1:55.18, bettering the former record of rival Denis Pankratov of Russia set in 1995. In an exclusive honor, likely for his dominance of the 200-meter butterfly in collegiate and international meets during his competitive years, he was made a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a Swimmer Honoree.