Early life
Shanteau was born in Snellville, Georgia on October 1, 1983 to parents Rick and Janet Shanteau. His brother Ryan was a competitive swimmer for Georgia Tech. [2] As a child, Eric began swimming for the strong youth program at Four Winds Swim Club, part of the Gwinnett County Swim League. Graduating in 2002, Eric attended Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, where he swam for Rick Creed. As a strong and versatile swimmer at Parkview High, Shanteau led the team to three successive state titles. During his high school career, Shanteau became a national swimming champion, and set one individual and two relay State records while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA). Parkview High Coach Rick Creed, who as a swimmer held the school record in the 200 breaststroke at Georgia State, was an important influence in Shanteau's swimming career shaping his breaststroke technique and setting him on the road to a championship career. [1] [3] [4]
College career
Enrolling in the Fall of 2002, Shanteau attended Auburn University, where he competed for the Auburn Tigers swimming and diving team under Head Coach David Marsh, and was an 11-time All-American. With Shanteau's participation, and Coach David Marsh's outstanding training regiment, the Auburn Men's Swimming and Diving team won the NCAA national team championship in four successive years from 2003-2006. [5] Shanteau's time of 3:24.44 in the 400 Individual Medley remained as an Auburn school record through at least 2015. [6] He majored in entrepreneurship and family business during his collegiate career, graduating in 2006. [7] At the 2003 World University Games, Shanteau won a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley. At the 2005 World University Games, he won gold in both the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley, making him the first American to sweep both events. [8]
2008 Beijing Olympics, cancer diagnosis
On July 3, 2008, Shanteau placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, guaranteeing himself a spot on the team set to compete in Beijing, China. [12] The week before, Shanteau was informed that he had testicular cancer, but chose to compete in the meet regardless. He swam in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where, despite missing the finals by thirteen one-hundredths (0.13) of a second, [13] he posted a personal best time, placing tenth overall with a time of 2:10.10 in his preliminary heat. After returning to the United States, he underwent surgery to remove the cancerous testicle. Shanteau is now in remission and active in cancer awareness. [14]
2009
At the 2009 U.S. National Championships and World Championship Trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, Shanteau placed second to Mark Gangloff in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 59.45. [15] In the 200-meter individual medley, Shanteau placed second to Ryan Lochte with a time of 1:56.00, [16] making him the third fastest performer ever in that event. [17] Shanteau won the 200-meter breaststroke final in 2:08.01, [18] breaking his own American record he set in the preliminaries of the meet. [19] All of Shanteau's final times in Indianapolis were personal bests, and he qualified to swim all three of his individual events at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome.
At the World Championships in Rome, Shanteau placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:07.65), [20] third in the 200-meter individual medley (1:55.36), [21] and fourth in the 100-meter breaststroke (58.98). [22] Shanteau was also part of the U.S. 4×100-meter medley relay team Aaron Peirsol, Michael Phelps and David Walters, which won the gold medal in a new world record of 3:27.28. [23]
In May 2011, Shanteau married Jeri Moss. [8]
2012 London Olympics
At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the qualifying event for the U.S. Olympic team, Shanteau made the team by finishing second in the 100-meter breaststroke. In preparation for the 2012 Olympics, Shanteau received training from 2012 Olympic Assistant Coach, and University of Southern California Varsity swim coach Dave Salo, who trained him at the University of Southern California prior to the Olympics. [24] [25]
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he placed fourth in the second semi-final of the 100-meter breaststroke and did not advance to the final. In a career highlight, he earned a gold medal by swimming the breaststroke leg for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the 4×100-meter medley relay. The 4x100 metre medley preliminary team composed of Nick Thurman with the backstroke leg, Shanteau with the breaststroke leg, Tyler McGill with the butterfly leg, and anchor Cullen Jones with the freestyle leg swam a combined time of 3:32.65. Later the U.S. 4x100 metre medley finals team swam a combined time of 3:29.35 for the event, with the Japanese team taking second with a 3:31.26. [8]
Honors, post swimming pursuits
Shanteau became a member of the Auburn University Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, and is a member of the Georgia Aquatic Hall of Fame. [26] [6] After conquering cancer in 2008, As a legacy, Shanteau helped create the "Swim for Your Life" open water event off Lake Lanier Island in Gainesville, Georgia that featured a 5K, 1K, and 500-yard race. [5]
Shanteau has also been a recipient of the following awards:
After his cancer diagnosis, Shanteau worked as a cancer awareness advocate for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. [29]
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