London, England. -- Sept. 4, 2012 -- Justin Zook '08 of Springfield College won his third consecutive Olympic Gold Medal this afternoon in the S10 classification of the men's 100-meter backstroke at the 2012 Paralympic Games. He won it with a world record time of 1:00.01.Zook had won this race, his specialty, at the Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008.
Earlier today at the Aquatics Centre, Zook had placed first in his heat, and set himself up for a repeat performance.
Zook had already competed once in these games, finishing eighth in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 26 seconds even. He will be competing twice more, including once on Sept. 6 in the 100-meter freestyle, and again on Sept. 8 in the 4x100 meter medley relay.
In today's race, Zook placed ahead of Andre Brasil of Brazil, who finished in the silver-medal winning time of 1:00.11. In third was Benoit Huot of Canada who took the bronze with a time of 1:00.73.
John Taffe enters his 25th season in 2013-2014 as the head coach of the men's and women's swimming teams at Springfield College. Under Taffe’s leadership, the Pride has returned to its status as one of the best collegiate swimming and diving programs in Division III. Read more.
Peter Avdoulos is regarded as one of the top diving coaches in the nation, and will enter his 29th season as the diving coach for both the men's and women's programs in 2013-2014. The current NEWMAC Women's and Men's Diving Coach of the Year, Avdoulos has coached countless All-New England and All-American divers, as well as several National Champions. Read more.