2019 USA Swimming Winter Junior Championships – West – Long Course Time Trial
- December 10th, 2019
- King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, Washington
- LCM (50m pool)
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2019 West Speedo Winter Juniors – LC TT”
- Olympic Trials standards
A pair of 14-year olds were among the swimmers who added their names to the list of qualifiers for the 2020 Olympic Trials earlier this week at the long course time trial that preceded the Winter Junior Championships – West in Federal Way, Washington.
In fact, the two swimmers both hit their qualifying standard in the same race, the girls’ 200 breaststroke.
Aislyn Barnett of the Aces Swim Club in Colorado swam a 2:32.12 in the 200 breaststroke for her first-ever Olympic Trials cut. That was a 4.09 second drop from her previous lifetime best – not an unusual drop for a 14-year old, but a more-unusual drop for a swimmer to hit an Olympic Trials standard.
The runner-up in that race was 14-year old Zoey Zeller from the Santa Clara Swim Club in California. She dropped 1.02 seconds from her lifetime best to swim 2:33.21 for her first Olympic Trials cut. Both swimmers were better than the standard of 2:33.29 in the event.
A 14-year old also qualified for the Olympic Trials at the East meet Time Trial as well – JoJo Ramey in the 200 back.
Both swimmers dropped time on Sunday morning in prelims of the 200 yard breaststroke as well to earn 2nd swims. Zeller swam 2:13.04, dropping more than 2 seconds from her seed time, to qualify 4th, while Barnett dropped 3-tenths of a second to qualify 10th in 2:15.07. The two were the highest-placing 14-year olds in prelims.
Barnett and Zeller were among 5 swimmers who hit new qualifying standards this week in Federal Way. Athletes have until June of 2020, shortly before the June 21st start of the Olympic Trials in Omaha, to meet the qualifying standards.
Other Olympic Trials Qualifiers from the Winter Junior Championships – West Long Course Time Trials
- Katherine “KitKat” Zenick of the Notrth Texas Nadadores, an Ohio State commit, hit the time standard in the girls’ 100 fly by swimming 1:00.53. That dipped under the Olympic Trials standard of 1:00.69. She also finished 3rd in the 100 yard fly at Winter Juniors, knocking a full second off her lifetime best in that event to swim 52.53 in the final.
- Lukas Miller from Elevation Athletics swam a 50.15 in the 100 free to hit his second Olympic Trials standard. That was a .72 second drop from his lifetime best. Later in the time trial event, he swam a 23.26 in the 50 free – that was a .31 second improvement from his best, but just short of the Olympic Trials standard of 23.19. He’s already qualified for Omaha in the 200 free thanks to a 1:50.02 done this summer.
- Tyler Lu from SMAC in Seattle swam a 2:04.01 in the 200 IM, which just-barely snuck him under the Olympic Trials cut of 2:04.09 after a second-and-a-half drop. That’s his 2nd Trials standard – last week at the Husky Invitational, he swam a 56.20 in the 100 back to qualify in that event as well.