Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Passionate and energetic responses come quickly when Eric Shanteau is asked about his new training program, being a newlywed and life as a cancer survivor.
Only one question during a recent interview gave Shanteau pause:
What are your thoughts on coming back to Omaha next year for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials after everything you went through here in 2008?
“I hadn't really thought about it much until you just asked me,” Shanteau said. “I don't know. It's going to be … my hope is when I show up at Qwest Center for the first time next year, I think I'll be able to reminisce about what happened four years ago for five minutes, then move on.”
Ten days before the start of the 2008 Trials, the former Auburn star was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
His doctors cleared him to compete. He managed to set the diagnosis aside and finish second in the 200 breaststroke to qualify for his first Olympics.
It wasn't until after the Trials that Shanteau went public about the cancer. He delayed treatment and stayed on the team to fulfill his dream of competing in the Olympics.
Shanteau didn't make the finals in Beijing, but he finished 10th with a personal-best time. He returned home, underwent surgery and was declared cancer-free less than three months after the diagnosis.
Now he's back in training with an eye on his return to Omaha in less than 12 months to compete in the 2012 Trials.
Shanteau has moved to Los Angeles with his wife, Jeri, whom he wed May 21. Shanteau has been training at the University of Southern California since February with coach Dave Salo and is focusing almost exclusively on the breaststroke.
“I had been training around the 200 and 400 IM (individual medley), but now everything I do is based around the breaststroke,” Shanteau said. “I've definitely gotten more specialized how I train both in and out of the water.”
Among his training partners are Kosuke Kitajima of Japan, the two-time defending Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke; Ed Moses, a 2000 U.S. Olympian and former American record-holder; Mike Alexandrov, a two-time Bulgarian Olympic qualifier now trying to make the U.S. team; and female breaststroke stars Rebecca Soni and Jessica Hardy.
“I'm more focused on swimming fast throughout the whole time in workouts and not as worried about the number of laps I had to swim,” Shanteau said. “I'm going at a race pace and using the laps I swim in a smarter way.
“I'm getting used to racing pace on a more consistent basis so I feel more comfortable when I need to swim fast at a meet.”
Shanteau's next big meet begins July 24 at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai. He qualified for the U.S. world team after winning the 2010 national title in the 200 breaststroke.
Once he's finished in China, he said, he'll compete in the 100 breaststroke at the U.S. National Championships that begin Aug. 2 in Palo Alto, Calif.
Shanteau has been cancer-free for 32 months, a number he likes watching increase as his times continue to drop.
He said his first year back in the water after the diagnosis was “interesting.”
“I grew a half-inch and put on 10 pounds, which I'd been trying to do for a long time,” he said. “Physically I can train any way I want to, but from a mental standpoint, that took a lot longer and more hard work.”
Since he was declared cancer-free after the surgery, Shanteau has worked with the Lance Armstrong Foundation as a voice for young adult cancer awareness.
“Living as a cancer survivor is different,” Shanteau said. “It's not something anyone can prepare you for. You get diagnosed, and if you're fortunate enough to survive, you know it can come back and you're capable of growing tumors. It's a hard thing to get used to.”
Shanteau is confident he can make his second U.S. Olympic team when he returns to Omaha next June to try to qualify for the London Games.
“I'm sure it will bring back a whole lot of memories and a whole lot of emotions, but I'm not going to get hung up on those,” he said. “The memories of those Trials and Beijing are still fresh, but I want a whole lot more from these Trials.”
Contact the writer:
402-618-4113, alexsdad@mail.com
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