Former Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School swimmer Connor Jaeger finished sixth in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Aug. 4 at the Olympics in London. Jaeger touched the wall in 14:52.99.
China’s Sun Yang won the gold medal and broke his own world record with a time of 14:31.02. Yang was nearly disqualified for a false start, but officials ruled the mishap was caused by noise from the crowd.
Canadian Ryan Cochrane won the silver medal and Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia won the bronze in the swimming event.
Jaeger finished third in his heat during the preliminary round on Aug. 3, registering a time of 14:57.56. Local residents attended a rally at the Knights of Columbus hall in Jaeger’s hometown of Fair Haven to watch the early morning race.
Jaeger, a University of Michigan junior, was recruited as a middle-distance swimmer, so the 1,500-meter freestyle is something rather new for him. “In my freshman year in Michigan, my third event was the 200-meter butterfly,” he said. “After that first collegiate season, my coach and I thought it was a smart idea to train for the 1,500 instead. … So since then I’ve been playing catch-up in training.”
The success of the American swim team, which won a total of 30 medals — including 16 gold — as of Aug. 6, helped take some of the anxiety out of waiting for the 1,500- meter freestyle.
“It hasn’t been challenging at all, waiting,” Jaeger said. “It’s easy to sit back and watch your teammates break Olympic records, world records and win gold medals. It hasn’t been difficult at all; it’s been great.”
Jaeger, 21, was named an NCAA All- American this year in the 500-yard freestyle, the 800-yard freestyle relay and the 1,650-yard freestyle.
— Matthew Rocco