Tyler Clary reacts after winning the 200-meter backstroke on Thursday. (Matt Slocum / Associated Press / August 2, 2012)

as published in the Press-Enterprise on August 2, 2012

Riverside Poly graduate Tyler Clary claimed his first Olympic medal, winning the men’s 200-meter backstroke final the evening of August 2, 2012 in London.

Clary won the race in a time of 1 minute, 53.41 seconds to set a new Olympic record. Clary edged out Japan’s Ryosuke Irie (1:53.78) and fellow American and defending champion Ryan Lochte (1:53.94).

Read the full Press-Enterprise article.

The City of Riverside is known for world-class recreation opportunities and Tyler Clary’s success in the London Olympic Games brings even more notoriety to the sporting community in Riverside. Clary is the second swimmer from Riverside to win an Olympic medal and the first to capture gold. Cynthia “Sippy” Woodhead, a Riverside native who attended Riverside Poly as a freshman and sophomore, won silver in the women’s 200-meter freestyle at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Riverside is proud to tell our story about Tyler Clary, a young swimmer from Poly High School who brought home the Gold in his very first Olympics.