Maggie Nichols, a member of last fall’s gold-medal winning world championship team, finished outside the top five in both of her events – uneven bars and balance beam – in her first competition since tearing the meniscus in her knee in April.
Advertisement
Only the top two from each event will qualify for Rio.
Ward said it’s that work ethic that led to Lamparella’s biggest accomplishment yet: a time at the National Club Swimming Association championships in IN last summer, qualifying him to move on to the Olympic trials.
There followed an eight-medal haul, including six gold, in Athens in 2004, and his zenith in Beijing 2008, where he won an unprecedented eight gold medals. Soon to turn 31, he has since gone to rehab and is committed to living a sober life.
Former Academy standout Anika Apostalon, who began her college career at San Diego State before transferring to USC for her junior season, is qualified in three events at the trials, which begin Sunday in Omaha, Neb. If anything, it’s widening considering her closest competitors are the four women who will join her on the plane to Brazil in August. She’s entered in five events, including all four freestyles ranging from 100 to 800 meters, and the 400 IM.
The 19-year-old’s ascent is duly noted with a massive portrait over one entrance to the CenturyLink Center – opposite a similar depiction of Olympic great Michael Phelps. He will attend the University of Virginia this fall.
He has not competed in the 400m event since his victory in the British capital, but, after initially vowing not to challenge for the spot at Rio, has decided to make his return over the gruelling distance on the first day of the Championships tomorrow. “But I’ve seen more positive things in this go-round – and I’ve been at every Olympic Games since ’92 – than I’ve seen in the past”.
Ryan Lochte’s latest Olympic bid took an unexpected turn, even before the 11-time medallist arrived at the United States swimming trials.
Even with 18 gold among his astonishing 22 Olympic medals, Phelps said Saturday that “nobody is a lock” to make the American team for Rio de Janeiro.
A selfless team mate, Humel also wanted to make sure she congratulated another western MA success story. Defending Olympic champion Gabby Douglas was fourth at 58.9, and Madison Kocian fifth at 58.150. The one-time reality TV star is entered in multiple events, starting with the grueling 400 IM on Sunday.
On Thursday, Ryan Lochte and his teammates attempted to fly from Charlotte, North Carolina to Omaha, Nebraska in an effort to compete at the 2016 swimming Olympic team trials.
“We will give him a bath and sometimes he’s happy – and sometimes he starts crying when he gets out because he likes the water”, Phelps said, smiling.
Advertisement
Schanz, who said she has the best chance of making the finals in the 200 breaststroke, said she has fond memories of the three-lane pool in which she often had to dodge around birthday parties and lap swimmers to get in her workouts. He hopped out less than a minute later with an Olympic Trials cut. She plans to retire from swimming this summer no matter what. The married Stanford graduate has a real-world job waiting in September. She tied for 33rd out of 163 swimmers in the 100 backstroke and placed 69th out of nearly 200 swimmers in the 200 backstroke.
