They come from many different backgrounds. One hails from Pennsylvania, one from California, one from Wisconsin and another from Maine. The events they swim vary from the breaststroke to the backstroke to relays.
Despite these differences, one thing unites Olympic swimmers Neil Walker, Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol and Ian Crocker.
They are all Longhorns.
"Everywhere we go, we always give a Hook 'em," Hansen said.
They also have something else in common - Olympic golds.
All four former Texas swimmers will be taking the plunge Thursday through Saturday as the headliners in the American Short Course Championship at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
All four of these swimmers built a legacy as Longhorns. Walker, the oldest of the four, began his career at Texas in 1994 and led the Longhorns to a national championship in 1996.
"Swimming in college here was a pretty special time," Walker said. "We were the last Southwest Conference champion teams and the first Big 12 champions, and winning the national championship at our home pool was pretty special."
Hansen, Crocker and Peirsol all swam as Longhorns at the same time, with Hansen and Crocker swimming from 2001-2004 and Peirsol joining them in 2003 for two seasons. Hansen and Crocker swam in two national championship in 2001 and 2002, and all three won individual national championships in each season that they swam in Austin.
"All of my experiences at Texas, including winning the two championships, that is the highlight of my career," Crocker said.
Their accomplishments at Texas added to an already stellar swimming tradition.
"The best thing they contributed is the way they are and were," Texas coach Eddie Reese said of the four. "The way they took care of academics and swimming was amazing."
But these four didn't end their accomplishments at Texas. All four have broken world records, and all four have gone on to win Olympic gold, with Hansen, Crocker and Peirsol teaming up to break the world record in the 400-meter medley relay at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
"We take great pride in kicking butt in that relay," Hansen said. "To swim that race with those guys adds a comfort level to a stressful situation."
All four remain so close that they still train together daily in Austin.
"All we do is stare at a line for 2 hours while we're training, so it is nice to have the other guys with the same goals there to motivate you," Hansen said.
However, this weekend should be more interesting than staring at a line.
"We'll get to break away from the events that we swim professionally and try some different stuff," Hansen said. "That should make it a more fun meet to swim."
But the Olympians are not the only ones excited about this weekend. The swimmers on the current team will be looking forward to hitting the pool with some of the world's best.
"This is what makes this program so special," said senior Garrett Weber-Gale. "Not many people get to swim with world- record holders every day. It's pretty exciting."
The array of swimmers making an appearance in Austin this weekend should bring a crowd that will add even more excitement to an already electrifying meet.
After all, as Hansen asks, "How often do you get a chance to see five Olympians and four world record holders swim in your backyard?"
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