Olympic Update: Harvard Swimmers at US Olympic Trials

Two days into what many consider the most difficult event on the swimming calendar, 12 Olympic tickets have already been punched by American athletes at the US Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, NE.

The event, which concludes on July 2nd, features 26 current, former and future Crimson athletes. All the action can be watched on the NBC family of networks as well as online at http://www.nbcolympics.com/.

Through 11 events, no Harvard swimmers have progressed past the Heat stage, but there have been some impressive performances.

In the Men’s 400 meter Individual Medley incoming freshman Christian Carbone finished in a time of 4:26.11, good for 30th out of a 109 swimmer field and just 15 seconds off the pace of America’s two big-name qualifiers in the event, six-time Olympic Medalist Ryan Lochte and 16-time Olympic Medalist Michael Phelps. Rising sophomore Mike Gaudiani also raced in the 400 IM, placing 97th.

Gaudiani and classmate Reed Snyder raced in the 400 meter freestyle, placing 106th and 96th, respectively, with three-time Olympic Medalist Peter Vanderkaay and Florida teammate Connor Dwyer taking the coveted Olympic spots.

Rising juniors Spenser Goodman and Chris Satterthwaite and rising sophomore Zach Walters competed in the 200 meter freestyle, all placing 90th and above. Four-time Ivy League Champion Satterthwaite also raced in the 100 meter backstroke, finishing 121st.

Rounding out the competition on the men’s side was rising sophomore Chuck Katis who came 37th in the 100 meter breast stroke. Four-time Olympic Medalist Brendan Hansen and cancer survivor Eric Shanteau will be representing the United States in London.

The top performer on the women’s side was rising sophomore Courtney Otto. The New Yorker finished 28th in the 400 meter IM behind Olympians Elizabeth Beisel and Caitlin Leverenz, and will also be competing in the 200 meter butterfly and 200 meter IM. Classmate Faith Martin also raced in the 400 meter IM, placing 106th.

Kate Mills ’11 placed 35th in the 100 meter butterfly, behind Olympic Gold Medalist Dana Vollmer and Claire Donahue. Mills, who graduated with the highest career point total in the Ivy League, will also compete in the 200 meter butterfly.

Rounding out the competition a trio of Crimson swimmers raced in the 400 meter freestyle. Rising sophomore Kelsey Hojan-Clark, incoming freshman Margaret Ramsey and recent graduate Catherine Zagroba ’12 placed 87th, 82nd and 73rd respectively.

Rising senior Mackenzie Luick placed 143rd in the 100 meter breast stroke and incoming freshman Kendall Crawford placed 141st in the 100 meter back stroke.

With five days of competition remaining, tune in to NBC to watch the following Harvard athletes in action:

Wednesday, June 27 – Morning Session:

Men’s 200 Meter Butterfly

Heat 1:

Chris Carbone ‘16

Tyler Rocca ‘16

Heat 2:

Niall Janney ‘12

Women’s 200 Meter Individual Medley

Heat 4:

Courtney Otto ‘15

Heat 12:

Faith Martin ‘15

Thursday, June 28 – Morning Session:

Men’s 100 Meter Freestyle

Oliver Lee ‘14

Chris Satterthwaite ‘14

Griffin Schumacher ‘15

Women’s 200 Meter Butterfly

Connie Hsu ‘16

Kate Mills ‘11

Courtney Otto ‘15

Hilary Roberts ‘12

Danielle Schulkin ‘14

Men’s 200 Meter Breast stroke

Chuck Katis ‘15

Friday, June 29 – Morning Session:

Men’s 200 Meter Backstroke

Christian Yeager ‘16

Women’s 200 Meter Breast stroke

Faith Martin ‘15

Men’s 200 Meter Individual Medley

Chuck Katis ‘15

Saturday, June 30 – Morning Session:

Men’s 50 Meter Freestyle

Oliver Lee ‘14

Chris Satterthwaite ‘14

Griffin Schumacher ‘15

Women’s 800 Meter Freestyle

Kelsey Hojan-Clark ‘15

Women’s 200 Meter Backstroke

Kendall Crawford ‘16

Meghan Leddy ‘12

Sunday, July 1

Men’s 1,500 Meter Freestyle

Mike Gaudiania ‘15

Alex Meyer ‘10

Reed Snyder ‘15

Tune in to NBC to cheer them on, and continue to check thecrimson.com for all your Harvard Olympic Updates on the road to London 2012.