Click for full-size image LEXINGTON, KY.–Nine University of Kentucky swimmers will travel to Omaha, Neb., to compete at the United States Olympic Team Trials, June 29- July 6. As the sole chance for swimmers to earn a spot on the elite team that will compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the meet is a fierce competition between the nation?s best swimmers, all battling for just two spots in each event.
Only the swimmers who finish in the top-two in each event in Omaha will earn a trip to Beijing, while the top six finishers in the 100-and 200-freestyle will join the U.S. Olympic team as members of the 400-and 800-freestyle relay squads.
?This is the largest contingent of UK swimmers to qualify for the Olympic Trials,? said head swimming coach Gary Conelly. ?We have trained hard for this moment and are looking forward to racing for a spot on the [Olympic] team.?
Representing the Wildcat women in Omaha are NCAA All-Americans Heather and Jenny Bradford and Megan Pulskamp. All three women were a part of the 200-freestyle relay team that placed a school-best fifth at this year?s NCAA Championships in March.
Pulskamp just completed an outstanding sophomore year with the Wildcats, highlighted by an 11th place finish in the 100-fly at the SEC Championships and a trip to the NCAA Championships as part of the record-breaking 200-and 400-free relay teams. Dubbed the ?Most Improved Swimmer? of the 2007-08 season by the UK coaching staff, she currently holds the fifth fastest time in UK history in the 100-fly and ranks fourth on the all-time list in the 200-fly.
Pulskamp will be joined by former swimmers Heather and Jenny Bradford in the 100-fly on the first day of competition at the Trials.
Heather Bradford holds the UK record in the event, with Jenny Bradford claiming the second spot in Kentucky annals. At this year?s conference meet, Heather Bradford collected bronze medals in both the 100-fly and 50-free, and Jenny Bradford captured the silver medal in the 50-free for the third consecutive season to cap off her impressive collegiate career. She currently owns the top-spot in Wildcat records in both the 50-and 100-free, while Heather Bradford ranks second in the events.
The former Kentucky sprinters amassed numerous awards over their careers as Wildcats. They each contributed to four team relay records, while their relay splits ? Jenny Bradford?s freestyle and Heather Bradford?s butterfly ? are the fastest 100-and 50-relay splits in Kentucky history. Combined, they earned 27 All-America distinctions.
In addition to swimming the 100-fly at the Olympic Trials, both are slated to compete in the 50-free. Jenny Bradford is ranked 15th in the event, the Wildcats? highest seed of the meet.
On the men?s side, former swimmer Will Vietti heads to Omaha as UK?s second-highest seed ranking 17th in the 100-breaststroke. Joining Vietti are men?s team members rising senior Shane Eliason, juniors Kyle Greene, Alex Forbes and Eric McGinnis and sophomore Tyler Reed.
Vietti is coming off of a remarkable four years with Kentucky, marked by multiple team records, two All-America honors and back-to-back silver medals in the 100-breaststroke at the SEC Championships. He also enters Trials as the 21st seed in the 200-breast, the event that earned him an All-America honorable mention nod at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
The lone Wildcat backstroker competing in Omaha is Eliason. After finishing 10th and 12th respectively, in the 200-and 100-backstrokes at SEC?s as a junior, Eliason traveled to the national meet for the first time. He competed in the 200-back and as a member of three relays. Eliason ranks in the top-three all-time in both backstroke events and sits at the top of the records as the lead-off leg for the fastest 200-medley relay in UK history.
Reed, who was named to the 2008 All-SEC Freshman team for his fifth place performances in the 100-and 200-freestyles at the conference meet, is the second-fastest Wildcat in history in both events. He was also the only freshman Wildcat swimmer to compete at the NCAA Championships, swimming on all four of the Cats? All-America honorable mention relay teams and earning the top individual honor for his 13th place performance in the 200-free. He will swim the 100-free in Omaha.
McGinnis will also compete in the 100-free along with Reed. McGinnis qualified for both the 50-and 100-free at last year?s ConocoPhillips National Championships where he improved from an 88th place ranking to a 13th place finish in the 50-free, marking one of last summer?s most impressive stories. His fourth and eighth place finishes in the 50-and 100-free, respectively, at the 2008 SEC?s earned him a spot in the record books as the fourth best time in UK annals. He tops the list as the anchor leg of the record-breaking 200-medley relay set in 2008.
Rounding out the field in the freestyle events are Forbes and Greene. Forbes, who is tied for the eighth spot on UK?s all-time list in the 50-free, will join McGinnis in the sprint event, while Greene is the lone Wildcat qualified for Trials in the 200-free. Greene, the Kentucky Swimming and Diving ?100 Percent Award? recipient, finished 13th in the event at the conference meet and ranks in Kentucky?s top-10 in both the 200- and 500- freestyles.
?The Olympic summer is one of the most exciting and challenging times in a swimmer?s life,? said Conelly. ?This meet will be a great experience for all of our swimmers and will better prepare them for competition at the national and international levels.?
On the international scene, Wildcat swimmer and Olympic hopeful Elvis Burrows will compete in the Bahamas National Swimming Championships at the end of the month for a chance to join the Bahamian team in Beijing.
Conelly predicts that for many of the participants, these meets will ?be a springboard to competitions other than the Olympics, like the World University Games.? However, he strongly believes that ?those swimmers who are currently ranked in the top-25 can make serious runs at the Olympic Team, both now and perhaps again in 2012.?
The meet will be televised on NBC and USA, airing each day of the competition from 8-9 p.m. ET, while live results may be found on www.usaswimming.org.
Updates on each of the Wildcat swimmers will also be posted on UKathletics.com.
