Vanderkaay lowers pool record on opening night of Charlotte UltraSwim

Two-time Olympian Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) lowered the pool record in the men's 1500m freestyle on the first night of the Charlotte UltraSwim, the fifth stop in USA Swimming's six-meet Grand Prix Series, while Olympic teammate Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) collected her first gold of the meet in the 800m free.

 Vanderkaay sailed to a comfortable win in the 1500 free with a time of 15:09.77. His time, which eclipsed the previous by record by seven seconds, earned Vanderkaay a prize of $100. Swimmers competing at the meet may earn monetary prizes for lowering meet records.

 Josef Kinderwater (Lancaster, Pa.) hit the wall 22 seconds later, coming in at 15:31.48 for the silver. North Baltimore's Brennan Morris (Baltimore, Md.) rounded out the top three in 15:38.88.

 Hoff, who competed in the women's 800m free at the 2008 Olympics, won the event in Charlotte with a time of 8:39.35.

 "I felt a little sluggish in the beginning," Hoff said. "I've been working on my stroke a lot, and I think I just forgot to kick in the first 400 meters."

 Club Wolverine's Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky.), who challenged Hoff for the entire race, finished two seconds behind the Olympian with a time of 8:41.23. At just 16 years old, Lindsay Seemann of Canada swam the third-fastest time of 8:44.05 for the bronze.

Competition continues tomorrow with the men's and women's 200m free, 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly and 400m individual medley. Prelims will begin at 9 a.m., and finals will begin at 6 p.m. ET.