Cody Miller, fresh off Rio success, honored at local pool to delight of young swimmers

By Chris Kudialis

Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Las Vegas Olympic swimmer Cody Miller returned to his home pool Monday to rousing applause and cheering by more than 200 friends, family, teammates and fans.

With gold and bronze Olympic medals proudly hanging from his neck, Miller told dozens of autograph and picture-seeking members of the Sandpipers of Nevada swim team gathered at the Desert Breeze Aquatic Facility to keep their heads up and follow their dreams.

"This whole thing has been amazing," Miller said shortly after Clark County Commissioner Susan Brager presented him a key to the Las Vegas Strip and declared Aug. 29 as Cody Miller Day. "It's a testament to hard work and it can be any of the swimmers here."

Miller, a 24-year-old graduate of Palo Verde High School, set an American record with a 58.87-second swim in the 100-meter breaststroke on Aug. 7 en route to a bronze medal in the event, his first Olympic medal. Great Britain's Adam Peaty took gold with a world record time of 57.13 seconds and South Africa's Cameron Van Der Burgh won silver at 58.69 seconds.

Miller struck gold six days later, swimming breaststroke in the men's 4-by-100-meter medley relay on a team that featured Michael Phelps swimming butterfly in his last Olympic swim. The relay team, which also featured backstroke swimmer Ryan Murphy and freestyler Nathan Adrian, set an Olympic record with a time of 3:27.95.

Both medals hung from Brazil-themed green-and-yellow colored lanyards, as Miller offered local swimmers a glimpse of the man they called a hero.

"He's an inspiration to all of us, and he's an example that you can achieve your dreams," said Bryton Valentine, 13.

"He has showed that hard work does pay off," added Ron Aitken, Miller's longtime former Sandpipers coach.

Miller, who moved to Las Vegas at age 10 from his hometown of Billings, Mont., was the first swimmer from the Sandpipers of Nevada club team to qualify for the Olympics. He was the second-ranked American breaststroker entering the Rio Games behind 23-year-old Kevin Cordes. Miller touched out Cordes for third place in the 100-meter event and was ultimately given the nod over Cordes to swim the 4-by-100 final.

He thanked the 400-member swim club, which trains swimmers ages 4 to 18, in an NBC interview after his bronze medal swim, and again on Monday afternoon. He said he swam an average of 60,000 meters a week to prepare for this year's games.

"It's a dream come true to be honest," Miller said. "It's a fairy tale that started here with Sandpipers."

Since returning home from Rio, Miller said he has continued to work out, though not nearly at the intensity as he was swimming in the months leading up to the Olympics. When asked about what's next for him, Miller said he plans on taking things "a year at a time," and that he's thinking more about his upcoming wedding than the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

"I couldn't be happier," he said. "This has been awesome."