Emory students posted strong showings at the recent 2016 Olympic swim trials in Omaha, Nebraska, with performances that included personal best times and top-five finishes.
Four Emory students — including three members of the Emory men's swimming and diving team — qualified to compete at the trials last week, a record number for the University. Following is a summary of how they fared:
Andrew Wilson
After stunning the swimming world at the 2015 USA Swimming National Championships with a sub-minute win in the 100-meter breaststroke, rising senior Andrew Wilson took a year off of his studies at Emory to train with Longhorn Aquatics at the University of Texas at Austin.
Qualifying in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke at his first Olympic trials, Wilson turned in impressive performances, placing in the top five among the nation’s elite swimmers in both events. Wilson placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke finals with a time of 59.97 and fourth in the 200 breaststroke, scoring a new long course personal best time of 2:09:35 — both considered remarkable achievements for a Division III swimmer.
Oliver Smith
The NCAA Division III 50 freestyle champion at the 2016 NCAA Championships, rising junior Oliver Smith finished second in his preliminary heat at the Olympic trials with a new long course personal best time of 22.92. The time tied Smith for 31st place among the 165 overall competitors, a scant .47 seconds behind the qualifying time for the advancing semifinals. It also marked the fourth top-40 finish earned by Emory swimmers during the trials.
Christian Baker
A six-time 2016 All-American in freestyle, relay and medley relays, rising senior Christian Baker qualified in the 400 freestyle just weeks before the Olympic trials, where he placed 40th out of a field of 103 competitors with a time of 3:57:76.
Maddie Locus
A multiple NCAA All-American freestyle sprinter and former standout swimmer at the University of Georgia, Locus entered her second Olympic trials ranked among the top eight U.S. women in the 50 freestyle. She placed 13th overall in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.40. A PhD student in mathematics at Emory, Locus trains with Swim Atlanta.