Swimmer Kaitlin Sandeno won the bronze medal in the Sydney Olympics 800-meter freestyle event with an 8-minute, 24.29 swim, becoming the eighth fastest performer ever, and the third fastest in U.S. history. Sandeno also finished fourth in the 400-meter individual medley and sixth in the 200-meter butterfly. No American had ever competed in these three events in the Olympics.
Sandeno first rose to prominence in the swimming world at the ripe old age of 15, in the 1999 spring nationals, where she won the 400 IM, finished second in the 800 free and finished third in the 400 free. At the 1999 Pan American Games, Sandeno won the 400 and 800 free, the latter in a Pan Am Games record. At the 2000 spring nationals, she took her second 400 IM national title, finished second in the 200 butterfly and third in the 800 free.
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