Michael Phelps has 22 career Olympic medals — 18 of which are of the golden variety. Fellow U.S. teammate Missy Franklin matched him with four gold medals of her own this year in London. While those two dynamic swimmers are a long way from Rock Island, Ill and Augustana University, their efforts have reverberated through the swimming community there.

"It does provide motivation, but no so much as motivation as getting to the Olympics," Morris native and fourth-year swimmer at Augustana Chris Greaves said. "But it is motivation. When you see how good the U.S. team is doing that makes you want to do it for the program you are in. I know I am itching to get back with my teammates in September."

Greaves points out that the summer Olympics is the pinnacle for the sport of swimming though there is also World Championships every year.