Vanderkaay won his first individual medal, a bronze, in the 200-meter freestyle at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Vanderkaay was part of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay that set the world record as the American team finished first with a time of 6:58.56. The Americans were the first team to break the seven-minute mark in the relay, and broke the previous record, set in Melbourne by more than four and a half seconds.