Shanteau cleared to compete

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Nothing but positive news emerging from the training camp for U.S. Olympic swimmers at Stanford University.

Everyone is looking great, swimming faster than ever and there’s plenty of team bonding.

But the most promising development emerged late in today’s conference call with men’s coach Eddie Reese, women’s coach Jack Bauerle and Mark Schubert, the team’s head coach and general manager.

They were asked about breaststorker Eric Shanteau, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer last month, shortly before the swim trials in Omaha, and then made the team in the 200-meter breaststroke event.

‘Eric has handled this whole situation better than our coaching staff,’ said Reese, who is also Shanteau’s personal coach at Longhorn Aquatics in Austin, Texas. ‘We were more worried than he was. He just got his last blood work taken here at Palo Alto, and he’s in great shape.

‘They’ve given him the go-ahead to go on to Singapore and Beijing. And basically with no worries.’

Also involved and consulting on the matter is one of the top doctors in the field, from Indiana University, who was closely involved in Lance Armstrong’s case. Reese called the situation ‘one of the toughest he had been involved in during his long career.’

Distance has helped Shanteau, the coach said. ‘He’s further away from the discovery of his cancer,’ Reese said. ‘The heat of the moment, so to speak, has been diminished. So he’s focusing more on his swimming than ever before. He’s in great shape.’

-- Lisa Dillman

Inset: Eric Shanteau.