Grevers Proposes to Chandler at Missouri Grand Prix
Columbia, Mo. (USA Swimming) – Olympian Matt Grevers’ (Lake Forest, Ill./Tucson Ford) heart was racing a little more than usual Saturday, just before the finals of the men’s 100m backstroke at the Missouri Grand Prix.
It wasn’t so much the mid-season race that was making him nervous, it was what he planned to do afterwards that was making him sweat.
First he had to take care of business, which he did, winning the 100m back by a body length in 53.57. Then came the hard part.
The meet hosts arranged for Grevers’ girlfriend, U.S. National Teamer Annie Chandler (San Antonio, Texas/Tucson Ford), to hand out the awards for his race. After Chandler hung the gold medal around Grevers’ neck, and he gave her a little kiss and invited her to stand with him on the top of the podium, where he proposed to her in front of the crowd.
Chandler said yes. (Watch the video)
“I asked her father for permission back at the end of November, and (Annie and I) needed to talk a little more before I really got (the ring),” Grevers said. “I got it, and I’ve just been searching for a unique way to pop the question. My brother works here at Missouri. Since we were both coming here, and my parents drove up from Chicago, I figured it would be a perfect opportunity and a unique situation.”
That unique situation provided a little extra motivation for his race tonight.
“Yesterday I was going to do it when she got on the medal stand for the 100 breaststroke, but she didn’t have the best swim,” Grevers said. “So I was like, I’ve got to go do it. I think I took it out a little fast because my heart was racing the whole time. I wanted to get up on the medal stand. If you’re not up there, then it won’t work. So if I didn’t get first, it wouldn’t have worked out so well.”
Grevers’ act might have been hard to follow, but fellow Olympian Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga./Trojan Swim Club) also managed to grab a bit of the limelight, setting a meet record in the men’s 200m breaststroke in 2:10.47. That time eclipsed the former mark of 2:10.86, set by Shanteau in 2008.
Shanteau bested the rest of the field by about three and a half seconds, and it was his second medal of the meet after taking silver in the 100m breast on Friday.
“It was something I was going for,” Shanteau said. “I remember that race I did four years ago. I know I’m a better breaststroker than I was then, so that was a good goal for me tonight.”
“I’ve been working on getting out a little quicker, so I’ll be interested to see what my first two 50s were, but my 200 breaststroke has been feeling really good over the last couple months. I haven’t been tightening up at all, so that’s a good sign in my training. My front-half speed will come with the taper later on in the season, so hopefully we can keep the feeling going.”
Other members of the U.S. National Team winning gold Saturday were Rachel Bootsma (Eden Prairie, Minn./Aquajets Swim Team) in the women’s 100m back and Olympian Amanda Weir (Lawrenceville, Ga./Swim Atlanta) in the women’s 50m freestyle.
Bootsma finished the 100m backstroke in 1:00.20, ahead of France’s Laure Manaudou (1:00.80) and Canada’s Julia Wilkinson (1:01.08).
“I was really happy about my race,” Bootsma said. “I would have liked to have gone under a minute, but I can’t really complain. It’s a great time for me in the season. I’m still training hard, so I’ll take that time right now.”
Weir edged out Jane Trepp in the women’s 50m free, 25.44 to 25.49. Olympian Christine Magnuson (Knoxville, Tenn./Tucson Ford) was third in 25.61.
U.S. Olympians Elaine Breeden (Lexington, Ky./Stanford) and Jason Lezak (Irvine, Calif./Rose Bowl Aquatics) also won medals Saturday. Breeden took her second silver of the meet in the 200m butterfly, turning in a time of 2:10.14. She also finished second in the 100m fly Friday. Lezak was third in the men’s 50m free in 22.75, behind the two fastest swimmers of all time in this event, Brazil’s Cesar Cielo (22.13) and France’s Fred Bousquet (22.26).
The Missouri Grand Prix wraps up Sunday with prelims and finals of the men’s and women’s 200m IM, 200m backstroke and 100m free. Timed finals of the women’s 800m free, the men’s 1500m free and the men’s and women’s 400m medley relay will also be contested.
For more information about the meet, including complete results, go towww.usaswimming.org/missourigrandprix.
