Competing in the same pool in Athens, Greece, where Baltimore-native Michael Phelps won his first six Olympic gold medals was a special moment for Zachary Poston. But it got better when he stood atop the podium there as a medal-winner — just like Phelps did in 2004 — after winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle in the 2011 Special Olympic World Summer Games this month.

"Standing on the podium, I was thinking, thank you for this gold medal that I deserve, and I am very proud to accomplish the goal of bringing a gold medal to the USA," Poston said. "It was excellent, something I can't really explain."

Poston, 17, who has a mild form of autism, first won four gold medals in the Special Olympics Maryland State Summer Games at Towson University in June. He was then chosen as the only swimmer from Maryland to represent the United States in the 10-day World Summer Games, which featured more than 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from approximately 180 different countries.

Although Poston has competed in the statewide summer games for the last five years, his mother, Bonnie Poston, said she was "overjoyed" when she got the phone call that he had been chosen to compete with Team USA in Athens.

"I was looking at my husband, like, 'You're not going to believe this,' " she said.

Poston said that heading into the games, his goal wasn't to win all his events. Instead, he wanted to stay focused on giving it his best effort and improve on his times.

"I just wanted to try my best," he said. "I might not get a gold medal; I may get second or third because I was swimming against other fast swimmers. My goal was to do better on my times."

Ready, set, gold

Poston left Baltimore Washington International/Thurgood Marshall Airport June 18 for the Isle of Rhodes, a Greek island about 300 miles from Athens, where he spent five days training and taking in Greek culture. Despite being away from home for the first time, Poston said he was anxious to jump in the pool and start competing.

"I was in the best shape of my life," Poston said. "I was ready to go … ready to get it over with."

However, Poston first had a 12-hour ferry ride from the Isle of Rhodes to Athens, which he described as "a rocky moment."

"I basically slept on the dining room table and a chair" on the ferry, he said. "I did not get a good night of sleep. When I woke up I was stiff."

But a little stiffness didn't slow Poston down. In addition to his gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle in 6 minutes, 32.68 seconds, Poston placed sixth in the 100-meter freestyle and fourth in the 200-meter individual medley and was a member of the 4x100 freestyle relay team.

Swimmers competed based on their qualifying times. Bonnie Poston, who arrived in Greece June 25, and Poston's uncle and aunt, Mark and Cathy Pavlakovich, were they to cheer him along for all of his events.

"My favorite was the 400 freestyle because it was the longest distance," Poston said. "I'm mostly a long-distance guy so I liked that one even before I won it."

Poston, who also swims for Laurel High School and Laurel City Swim Team in the summer, started swimming as a 4-year-old at Fairland Aquatics Center, and doesn't plan on slowing down.

"Swimming is fun; it's my life," he said. "I enjoy it very much."

Poston's coach in Athens was Baltimore-native Phil Wetzler, a volunteer coach who has dedicated much of his time to the Special Olympics World Games. Wetzler, 69, has ties with Michael Phelps through Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, in Mount Washington, where Wetzler was a coach when Phelps got his start as a young swimmer.

Winning a Special Olympics gold medal in the same pool where Phelps won his first Olympic gold was "the greatest thing that ever happened to me," Poston said.