UF Legend Dara Torres Swims a Lifetime Best Time to Advance to U.S. Olympic Trial Finals
Friday, July 4, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
UF legend Dara Torres was the story of day five at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Torres turned in a 53.76 astonishing lifetime best semifinals swim in the 100-meter freestyle at the Qwest Center Thursday to advance to the final showdown of the event.
The lifetime best 100-free time qualified Torres as the second-favorite going into the eight-woman final Friday evening. At 41 years of age, Torres is one step closer to being the oldest woman to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team. She was additionally the first swimmer from the U.S. to make four Olympic teams (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000). Should she carry on the tradition and qualify for the 2008 games in one of her two events, the 50 or 100-meter freestyle, Torres would be the first swimmer to make five Olympic Games. Following finals of the 100-meter free Friday, Torres will compete in preliminaries of the 50 free Saturday morning, entering the Olympic Trials as the top contender with a time of 24.53, the American Record. She additionally holds the meet record (24.90) in the 50 free from the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Soon-to-be junior Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) also represented the Gators Thursday, competing in finals of the 200-meter breast, clocking a time of 2:13.86, improving to fifth place after entering final action in the eighth spot. Burckle additionally qualified as the eighth seed (2:01.61) for the semifinal round of the 200-meter IM after swimming a career-best time in prelims.
Following an Olympic qualifying swim in the 200-meter freestyle in Wednesday Trials action, Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), competed in the 100-meter freestyle preliminaries Thursday morning along with Torres, swimming her way to an 18th-place finish with a career-best time of 55.58. Burckle narrowly missed the top-16 semifinal, but qualified to be the second alternate for the semifinal round.
After scratching from finals of the 100-meter freestyle to focus on two Thursday prelims, the 200-meter back and 200-meter IM, Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) returned a 1:56.52 semifinals swim in the 200 back, after posting a 1:58.25 in prelims, to claim the second seed going into finals of the event Friday. Current Gator Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.), additionally qualified for finals of the 200 back after swimming career-best times in both prelims (1:58.71) and semifinals (1:59.12). Tullius will enter finals as the seventh seed.
In other day five action, four Gators, including Lochte and Burckle, represented Florida in preliminaries of the 200-meter IM. Lochte, who was the top-contender going into semis (1:59.49), returned a quicker semifinal (1:57.57), the third-fastest time in the event this year, to remain the top seed going into finals Friday.
In 200 IM prelims, Dustin McLarty (DeLand, Fla.) tapped in at 23rd with a career-best time of 2:04.02, while Mike Joyce (Voorhees, N.J.), landed a 2:05.50, 41st-place finish, shaving nearly six seconds off his personal best time to set a new career-best Thursday in Omaha.
The sixth day of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials will kick off Friday from the Qwest Center with prelims at 12 p.m. (ET), streamed live on NBCOlympics.com, while finals commence at 7:45 p.m. (ET), broadcast live on NBC from 8-9 p.m.
Friday, July 4 Prelims, 12 p.m. (ET), NBCOlympics.com
50 Free – men
800 Free – women
100 Fly – men
200 Back – women
Friday, July 4 Finals, 7:45 p.m. (ET), NBC
50 Free – men - semifinal
200 Breast – women - FINAL
200 Back – men - FINAL
200 Back – women - semifinal
200 IM – men - FINAL
100 Free – women - FINAL
100 Fly – men - semifinal
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