Olympic Trials 100m Backstroke Results
Olympic Trials 100m Backstroke Results
I swam the 100m Backstroke today at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. I felt prepared and excited to swim before my race. I warmed up at the ideal times and changed into my race suit. I headed over to the "Ready Room" and got my suit and cap checked by the officials. They seated us in our heats, it reminded me of the age group "Marshalling" system to ensure little Timmy was there in time for his race. There was a lot of jumping around and arm swinging going on is the room. Everybody had their team gear on and was ready to race. When our heat was called we marched up the stairs to the pool level. We waited an entire heat while seated just off the main deck area. When heat 2 (the heat before us) started, we were paraded out onto the pool deck in our lane order. We had baskets for all of our clothes which were made available to us after our races. I took off my warmups and did one last stretch before my race. When the heat ahead of us finished up we heard the multiple whistles which indicate we should be ready to compete. Seconds later when the pool was clear, we heard the one long whistle, this one means "enter the water". We all jumped in and prepared to do our backstroke start. I was in lane 7, a lane I had tried out during warmup. I was comfortable with the lane and knew the ceiling would be tough but manageable. When the gun went off I had an ideal start. I had good underwater kicks and surfaced in about 14 meters. I had a good breakout and a solid first 50m. My turn was a bit tight but I don't think it slowed me down. I flipped in a 27.35. Ideally I wanted to be out in a 26 high or 27 very low. I took 9 underwater kicks off the wall, I had planned on 8 kicks but added one, cause I'm crazy like that. I had a good breakout and settled into my stroke and tried to bring it home strong. As usual around 75m I started to fall apart and the last 15 meters was downright ugly. I tried to keep it together but I slowed down quite a bit at the end of my race. I touched, looked up and saw a 58.47. A very slow time for me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to muster a smile after that performance.
Before my race I told myself that "I'll be happy with anything 56 or 57". While I stared up at the clock at my 58.47 I was downright confused. Even 9 hours later, I'm still trying to figure out how I was a 58.1 unshaved untapered 3 weeks ago in Austin, TX and 57.44 a year ago outdoors at Stanford shaved and tapered. My overall feeling is that "I'm better than a 58.47". It's unfortunate that I didn't have a great backstroke perforamance at the biggest meet of my life but this will not be my last meet. I have many more chances to tag the 56 second swim I know I have in me!
Today was a blast. I prepared well and I raced to the best of my ability. I was part of the biggest meet in this country. I've met Olympians and I've had a lot of fun. I'm so glad I have some time trials to swim over the next few days before my offical race in the 100m Butterfly on Saturday. I'm proud to be here and very thankful to everyone who has supported me. Swimming makes me happy.
