We watched last night as our favorite backstroker-slash-ocean lover, Aaron Peirsol, won his fourth Olympic gold medal and set a world record of 52.54 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke, which made him the first man since Roland Matthes of East Germany in 1968 and 1972 to win back-to-back 100 backstroke titles at the Games, according to the New York Times' report.

It was an exciting race. The first 50 meters saw Aaron lagging behind in lane two, but after his flip and a fierce kick off the wall, he surged ahead. The commentators roared.

And here's the kicker: The NYT says Aaron has "plunged deeper into his environmental interests: joining forces with an environmental advocacy group to promote the health of the oceans."

Will this mysterious, unnamed ocean conservation group please stand up? Oh, wait...that's us.

[Image: Doug Mills/The New York Times]