University of Richmond Athletics
Katie Sieben Shines Sunday At U.S Olympic Swimming Trials
06/29/2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
June 29, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. - University of Richmond swimmer Katie Sieben missed reaching the semifinals in the 100m fly by less than a half-second, but the sophomore set a long-course personal-best time of 1:00.38 on Sunday afternoon as action began at the 2008 U.S Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. Sieben's time was the 26th-fastest in the 137-swimmer event.
Sieben's previous long-course best time was 1:01.69. On the short-course, the Seymour, Conn. native is the defending Atlantic 10 champion in the 100 fly and reached the NCAA Championships with an "A" cut of 53.73 - the second-fast time in school history.
"Katie dropped over a second," said Richmond head coach Matt Barany, who is in Omaha. "She was eager to race and she took the race out very fast with a 27.9 at the 50. We're very happy with her final time, but in true Katie fashion, she's already looking for the next challenge. She's just getting a sense of this level of swimming. She will get much better."
Junior Lauren Beaudreau swam the 400m IM Sunday afternoon, posting a time of 5:03.58 and finished 78th. The Lafayette, Calif. native also swam the 200m IM on Tuesday, posting a time of 2:22.56 but missing the semifinals cut.
In what has proven to be a lightning-fast pool at the Qwest Center, Sieben finished second in her heat in front of a crowd of nearly 13,000, getting edged at the wall by Dana Christi (59.98). The cutoff to reach the top-16 and earn a spot in Sunday night's semifinal was a 59.97. The top eight times from the semis advance to Monday night's final where the top two earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
An eight-lane, 50-meter pool was constructed for the Trials inside the Qwest Center, which is home to the Creighton University men's basketball team. A similar pool was also built in the neighboring Omaha Convention Center, which serves as a warm-up pool.
Olympians Michael Phelps (400m IM) and Katie Hoff (400m IM) each set new world records in the pool during action Sunday evening.
NBC and the USA Network will provide live coverage of the Trials throughout the week in prime time (8-9 p.m. ET), while live video streaming of every event is available at NBColympics.com.