Matthew McLean (born May 13, 1988) is an American competition swimmer who has been a member of several winning U.S. teams infreestyle relay events. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and earned a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the2012 Summer Olympics.
McLean was born inCleveland, Ohio.[1] He grew up inSterling, Virginia, and attendedPotomac Falls High School in Sterling, where he was a member of the Potomac Falls Panthers swim team.[2] McLean won state championships in the 500-yard freestyle and twice in the 200-yard freestyle, and set a new state record in the 200.[2]
He received an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Virginia, and swam for theVirginia Cavaliers swimming and diving team inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2008 to 2011.[2] During his four years as a UVA swimmer, he won seventeenAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships, and received fifteenAll-American honors.[2] He was recognized as the ACC Freshman of the Year in 2008, ACC Swimmer of the Year in 2009 and 2011, and ACC Swimmer of the Championships in 2008, 2009 and 2011.[2] As a senior in 2011, he won the NCAA national championship in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:10.15.[2] He graduated from Virginia with abachelor's degree in sociology in 2011.[3]
After graduating from the University of Virginia, McLean began training under coachJon Urbanchek as a member of the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST) in California.[1] In August 2011, McLean won the USA Swimming National championship in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:47.33.[3] He was also part of the Duel in the Pool 2011 team, taking second place in the 200-meter freestyle and third place in the 400-meter freestyle events.[3]
At the2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, the qualifying meet for the Olympics, McLean made the Olympic team for the first time by finishing fifth in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:46.78,[4] which qualified him to swim in the 4×200-meter freestyle as a member of the U.S. relay team.[5] At the2012 Summer Olympics in London, he earned a gold medal by swimming for the winning U.S. team in the preliminaries of the4×200-meter freestyle relay.[6]
United States
