TCU Swimmer Reflects On Sister's Gold Medal
9/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Sept. 14, 2004
Fort Worth, Texas - TCU freshman swimmer Nick Vollmer is a three-time Texas all-state selection. He was the team MVP at Granbury High School three times and holds school records in eight events. He is also the older brother of USA Olympic Gold medallist, Dana Vollmer.
"I am really proud of Dana, she worked really hard to get where she's at," said Nick. "Being a part of this whole experience is really inspiring and makes me want to continue to get better."
Dana, a 16-year old junior at Granbury HS, competed in Athens, Greece, this summer at the 2004 Olympic Games. Individually, she swam in the 200-meter freestyle and was a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay.
In the relay, the quartet set a new world, Olympic and American record in the event. The time of 7:53.42 shattered East Germany's record of 7:55.47 that was set in 1987, 17 years earlier. In the 200, she also fared well as she advanced to the finals and finished in sixth place in 1:55.98.
Nick and his parents, Leslie and Cathy, were in Athens throughout the competition to watch Dana live her dream.
"It was a really neat experience being at the Olympics," said Nick. "I got the opportunity to watch Dana throughout everything and I also got meet a lot of the other swimmers."
Now, Nick is concentrating on building a name for himself and helping the TCU swimming and diving team continue on their recent success.
"This year, I just want to swim my best and get faster," said Nick. "Lettering would also be pretty cool." As for his Olympic aspirations, "Maybe the summer after my senior year, I'll get a chance to swim in the Olympics."
