Vollmer competed as a 16-year-old at the 2004 Olympics but didn't make the team in 2008. Other facts about the Cal grad: she has a serious heart condition, her cap fell off during her world record, and she sports a tattoo, as you can see in this must-view New York Daily News photo feature, Olympic athletes with tattoos.
1:15 p.m. Adrian takes gold
Nathan Adrian of Berkeley is golden in the men's 100m freestyle. He won a silver medal as part of the mens' 4x100m freestyle relay team. He's a Cal grad who also won a gold at the 2008 games.
From AP:
"Nathan Adrian of the United States won the men's 100-meter freestyle by the smallest of margins at the London Olympics on Wednesday. Adrian clocked 47.52 seconds to win by 0.01 ahead of world champion James `The Missile' Magnussen of Australia."
12:01 p.m. Underdog Weltz finishes fifth
San Jose's Scott Weltz came in fifth out of eight swimmers in the men's 200-meter breaststroke. Daniel Gyurta of Hungary won the gold, finishing in world record time. Here are the full final results.
When Weltz qualified for the Olympics in June, AP described it as a "stunner." The Mercury News' Elliott Almond put it this way today:
Weltz, 25, qualified for the Summer Olympics by dropping time in his specialty as if he were on a crash diet. [The] Bellarmine Prep graduate didn't compete at a big-time U.S. college or make a slew of national teams. In other words, his ascent is dramatically different than the Bells' other Olympic swimmer -- three-time Olympic medalist Pablo Morales who went to Stanford.
Weltz twice was Big West Conference swimmer of the year for UC Davis. Two weeks after returning the 2010 NCAA championships Davis dropped the men's swim program.
Not that it mattered in the context of becoming an Olympian. Weltz had never made the final of a senior national meet until June. He was 38th at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials in the 200-meter breaststroke. The London Games are his first international meet.