Neuqua Valley boys swimming coach Chad Allen was one of about 150 people who spent Wednesday evening at the Hollywood Palms movie theater.
They were part of a viewing party hosted by the Fox Valley Swim Club that watched on TV as Naperville resident Kevin Cordes swam at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Allen and his fellow attendees liked what they saw.
Cordes, who swam for Allen at Neuqua Valley, competed in his second final event in 72 hours and finished eighth in the 200-meter breaststroke.
“It was exciting,” Allen said. “It was awesome with him finaling in two events.
“He was the only swimmer to make the finals of both breaststroke events. It’s pretty rare that somebody makes the finals in both.”
Cordes, who trained at Fox Valley and represented the club at the U.S. Olympic Trials, finished fourth in Sunday’s 100 breaststroke. He missed a medal by .35 of a second in that event, and another near-miss was in store in the 200.
Even though he was making his Olympic debut, Cordes was considered a strong medal contender in both races. But the 200 proved to be full of drama as all eight finalists timed within a second of each other in the semifinals.
Wednesday’s race proved just as tight as the swimmers were separated by only .88.
Dmitriy Balandin pulled a huge upset, winning the gold medal in 2:07.46 to become Kazakhstan’s first swimming medalist.
American Josh Prenot took the silver in 2:07.53, while Russia’s Anton Chupkov captured the bronze in 2:07.70.
Cordes finished in 2:08.34, missing the awards podium by .64. He was seeded fifth after timing 2:07.99 in the semifinals.
“That was one of the tightest races I’ve ever seen for a 200,” Allen said. “Everyone was within a second of each other.
“Usually you have a spread of at least a couple seconds. The guy who won was seeded eighth.”
Cordes wasn’t the only big name to come up just short.
Japan’s Ippei Watanabe, who set the Olympic record of 2:07.22 in the semifinals, finished sixth in the 2:07.85. The reigning world champion, Germany’s Marco Koch, was seventh in 2:08.00.
“I’m sure (Cordes) wanted a medal but he was close to winning both of those races,” Allen said. “He’s right there within a second of the world record in both events.
“That’s good to know moving forward. It’s something to build on.”
Cordes, who turns 23 on Saturday, still has a shot at returning from Rio with a medal. Allen thinks Cordes likely will be chosen to swim the breaststroke leg in the preliminary round of Saturday morning’s 400 medley relay.
Cordes is less likely to be picked to swim in Sunday’s final should the U.S. advance. Prenot or Cody Miller, the bronze medalist in the 100, are favored to get the nod. But Cordes would still earn a medal if the U.S. reaches the podium as long as he swims in one of the heats.
Matt Le Cren is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.
