WINNETKA – Michael Hamann stood on the starting block behind Lane 4 with a fourth-place medal draped around his neck. As he stood, posing for a few pictures in his Cary-Grove warmup, he reached out with his right arm and pointed to his parents sitting in the crowd.

It was hard to fight back the tears.

“I pointed at my mom and my dad in the stands because they’ve done a lot for me for the past 12 years,” Hamann said in an emotional moment, “driving me to swim practices, supporting me and giving me the opportunity to go to nationals. I just can’t thank them enough for all they have done for me.”