Aug. 18, 2004

Laramie, Wyo. -- University of Wyoming junior Scott Usher finished his Olympic quest with a seventh place finish in the 200 meter breaststroke Wednesday night in Athens, Greece. Usher, a Grand Island, Neb. native, swam a time of 2:11.95. Japan's Kosuke Kitajima completed a sweep of the breaststroke events by winning his second gold of the games. His time of 2:09.44 was good for a new Olympic Record. He also won gold in the 100 meter breaststroke on Sunday. Hungarian Daniel Gyurta won the silver medal with a time of 2:10.80, touching out World record holder Brendan Hansen, who's time of 2:10.87 garnered him the bronze medal. "Scott did everything that we thought he should do tonight," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "He may have been a little bit tentative and swam the second 50 meters a bit too slow. I don't think he was ever able to get comfortable in a race plan. He said that it was the fastest race he had ever been a part of and that makes this a great experience for him. After all, his first international race was the Olympics. "I couldn't be prouder of Scott, he had an amazing summer and came a very long way. Both he and the program got a lot of world wide exposure and that has been great, Scott has a lot more to do before his career is over. Now he gets a chance to relax and enjoy the Olympics before coming back to school and getting after it again."