Zane Grothe anchored the USA’s 4x200m freestyle relay to a bronze medal on Friday at the 2017 FINA World Championships at Budapest. The medal was the first for Grothe and the fifth won by a current or former Auburn swimmer at this summer’s championships.
Grothe, who swam at Auburn from 2010-14, split a 1:46.90 to help the USA move up from seventh out of prelims to third in finals. Blake Pieroni led off for the US foursome in 1:46.33 and was followed by Townley Haas (1:44.58) and Jack Conger (1:45.37) before giving way to Grothe.
The bronze medal marked Grothe’s second lifetime international medal as he previously won silver as part of the same relay at the 2016 Short Course World Championships.