Monday, June 30, 2008

Caroline Burckle Makes Finals at Olympic Trials

Louisville native Caroline Burckle has advanced to the finals in the women's 400 meter free. She will swim tonight in Omaha for a position on the U.S. Olympic team.

Burckle finished 4th earlier today with a time of 4:06.74. The top two finishers automatically receive a spot on the team; relays are sometimes filled out with those who placed below second. Burckle will swim in lane six; Katie Hoff (who set a world's record in the 400 IM yesterday) will be in lane four. Hoff qualified with a time of 4:05.61.

Burckle's brother, Clark, swam in the finals of the men's 400 IM last night, in which Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte both set world records.

Burckle's team mate Abbie Fish, who also swims for Lakeside SeaHawks, finished 57th with a time of 4:19.46.

Also swimming tonight in the finals for the women's 100 fly, Kentuckians Elaine Breeden and Rachel Komisarz, seeded second and third respectively, will try to knock off Christine Magnuson for a spot on the team.

Kentucky's strong showing in the Olympic trials is almost unfathomable. Merely 2,200 Kentuckians swim competitively, compared to approximately 15,000 in Indiana and Illinois.

Update: In the finals for the women's 400 free, Caroline finishes 4th with a personal best time of 4:05.09. Katie Hoff and Kate Zeigler finish first and second and thereby win automatic spots on the U.S. Olympic team.

In the women's 100 fly finals, Elaine Breeden finishes 2nd and Rachel Komisarz third, with times of 58.21 and 58.36, respectively.

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