Maine’s Ian Crocker is an Olympic gold medalist, a world-record holder, a rising star in competitive swimming. The young, barely 18, Mainer is hard-working, devoted to his sport and refreshingly modest. Did we mention he’s from Maine?

Maine, of course, can claim no credit for his outstanding performances in Sydney. He turned in a personal best – established a new American record, finished a strong fourth, agonizingly close to bronze – in the individual 100-meter butterfly finals Friday. With that swim he earned himself a spot on the 4-by-100 relay team and, in thewee hours here Saturday morning, helped to win gold and to smash the world record.

He was the unknown, unheralded one on the team. The others – Moses, Krayzelburg and Hall – all had won individual golds. Ian Crocker inherited a lead when he swam the third leg, he went against the individual silver medalist from Australia and he didn’t give an inch. Though it can’t count in the record books, he actually shaved off a few tenths from the day before, besting his personal best, coming through when it counted.

Then came the part for which Maine perhaps can take a little credit. In the post-race interviews, Ian Crocker revealed himself to be a gracious winner, a model of sportsmanship. He gave all the credit to his teammates, he thanked his Australian hosts. OK, so most of the credit goes to Ian Crocker, his parents, teachers and friends at Cheverus High, his swim coaches in Portland, but surely there’s enough reflected glory to let a little rub off on the state that helped raise this outstanding young person.

Actually, Ian’s personal traits are old news in the swimming community. In a February 1999 issue of the journal of USA Swimming, the sponsoring organization, it was noted that in Maine, “a state where boys are laced up in hockey skates almost before they can walk, Ian Crocker is a rare breed.” The story listed numerous ways in which Ian was at a disadvantage – no Olympic-size 50-meter pools, no world-famous coaches, not much in the way of competition.

“There are an endless number of excuses he could use,” Splash noted. And then went on to note that he doesn’t.

“Maine is my home,” Ian told the magazine. “I’ve got the coach I need at this time. We’re chipping away at it. You can do it anywhere. The pools we train at are nothing special. It’s water. People need to know you don’t need all the best stuff all the time to make it somewhere.”

Not to say it wouldn’t be great if Maine kids had better pools and more had better swimming programs. Still, in the absence of those things, it’s good for Maine kids to know – take it from a gold medalist – that the best stuff is what you bring with you.