Erik Vendt

Erik Vendt was a distance freestyler and individual medley swimmer who won three medals at the Olympics from 2000-08, with silvers in the 2000 and 2004 400 IM and a gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Vendt won two medals at the World Championships, with silver in the 2001 400 IM and bronze in the 2003 1,500 metre freestyle. He added three silver medals at the Pan Pacific Championships, in the 400 IM and 1,500 free in 2002 and the 2006 1,500 freestyle.

Vendt swam at the University of Southern California, where he won five NCAA Championships and seven Pac-10 Conference Championships, and was a 13-time All-American. He was the 2002 NCAA Swimmer of the Year. At the 2000 US Olympic Trials Vendt won the 1,500 in 14:59.11, making him the first American to break 15 minutes for the race.

After the 2008 Olympics Vendt settled near San Francisco, working for Merrill-Lynch, but he returned to his native Massachusetts in 2015 and worked as director of business development for WHOOP, a wearable sports optimization company.