CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA swimming sensation Lyndon Ferns helped South Africa's 400-meter freestyle relay team win gold at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in August. Ferns was joined by former Wildcats Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman on the four-man team.

The UA campus is made up of average students, and UA swimmer Lyndon Ferns is not one of them, even if he'd like to think so.

His name may not sound familiar but his accomplishment surely is: Ferns was a member of the South African 400-meter freestyle relay team that won gold this summer in Athens, Greece, along with former UA swimmers Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman.

The former Wildcats are three-fourths of the squad holding the new 400-meter freestyle relay world record, coming in at 3 minutes, 13.17 seconds and beating archrival Australia's record set years earlier.

Ferns definitely isn't your average UA student - at least not when it comes to being a world-class athlete and an Olympic gold medallist.

"In the Olympics everyone is the same, there is nothing special about us," Ferns said. "Nobody cares you are an Olympic athlete because everyone is, it's just a bunch of people."

Ferns said that nobody really knew how fast their team could be except for the people of South Africa, and the coaches from the UA. At the record-breaking Olympic swim, Ferns' split time was faster than American prodigy Michael Phelps.

Ferns says that it was a very competitive atmosphere in Athens because all of the teams train together. Competition was heavy as well because, in morning heats, his team missed the world record by only half a second. Ferns said the team had dedication and commitment on its side and kept it together under pressure.

"We knew we could do it if everything went according to plan," Ferns said.

And come together it did. The team led the entire race, and walked away with the world record.

"All we really wanted to do was beat the Australians because they were the current world-record holders," he said, "and we had a grudge against them."

After the race, the emotions ran high as Ferns realized the feat his team just accomplished.

"It was really emotional. Hearing your national anthem, realizing you'd won and having three great guys standing next to you," Ferns said.

"An Olympic medal is something that every athlete dreams of. The great thing is that all the hard work pays off," Ferns said.

Ferns not only walked away with the medal, he also walked away with newfound fame. He said that he was happy to come back to the UA because he was looking forward to regaining some of his anonymity.

"It's really fun to have people know your name and it's amazing to know that they enjoyed watching you at some point, but it gets to be too much and sometimes you need a break," he said.

Now Ferns is looking to focus on the swim season ahead, saying that he believes Arizona has one of the best teams it's had in years, perhaps among the top three in the nation.

For now, though, he just wants to think about trying to graduate, with his plans to go to 2008 and 2012 Olympics in the far distance.

Ferns contends that through it all, he really is just a normal college student.

When he isn't at the pool he is doing any number of things that an average person will do.

Perhaps he can be found him watching "Old School," which he says is his favorite movie.

Or maybe he's listening to music - hard rock, alternative, anything but country, though.

Ferns also enjoys be an outdoorsman of sorts, with hunting, fishing and camping being some of his favorite hobbies.

One thing he wants to clear up about being from South Africa: He says that nobody walks around with pet lions or anything of the sort, which he believes is a common misconception that Americans make.

Ferns, an extraordinary athlete that has accomplished so much in such little time, doesn't think he's a stereotypical superstar athlete.

Watch for him at the pool, if your eyes can move that fast.