Barksdale Shines as Gamecocks Finish First Day at U.S. Olympic Trials

June 26, 2016

OMAHA, Neb. — Five Gamecocks were in action as the University of South Carolina opened their journey at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials on Sunday at CenturyLink Center. Emma Barksdale, Cody Bekemeyer, Jeremiah Bohon, Paige Maynard and Kevin Swander competed on the biggest stage in American swimming on Sunday, with Barksdale’s lifetime best highlighting the day.

Barksdale won her heat of the women’s 400 IM by nearly four seconds and set a personal record by more than three. She finished 14th overall, tops among all Gamecocks in the pool Sunday.

Quoting Head Coach McGee Moody

“Emma’s swim was the highlight of the morning. She’s currently the top 18 & under swimmer in the country in that event, and for her to do that in her first Olympic Trials swim is incredible. If it was a race where the top 16 made semifinals, she would have moved on. Cody had solid swims in both of his races, and Kevin also had a good swim. Overall, it was a good first day for us.”

RECAP

First up for the Gamecocks was Bekemeyer, who was swimming with the A heats of the men’s 400 IM. The rising sophomore finished in a time of 4:25.13, fifth in his heat and 29th overall. He finished four spots above his preliminary seed.

Next in the pool for the Gamecocks was Paige Maynard swimming the women’s 100 butterfly. Maynard took second in her heat with a time of 1:01.51. The time was good for 92nd overall and 47 spots higher than her seed.

Barksdale took the lead of her 400 IM heat during the breaststroke and turned on the jets at freestyle for an overwhelming victory. Her time of 4:44.80 vaulted her to the top of the standings after three heats, and she finished 14th overall in a race where the top eight made finals. The performance crushed her qualifying swim of 4:47.89, which was seeded 32nd, and should give the rising sophomore plenty of confidence for her final two races in Omaha.

Current assistant coach Swander was back in competition mode for Olympic Trials, swimming the men’s 100 breaststroke. The former NCAA All-American finished the race in 1:02.89, good for 56th place overall and fifth in his heat.

Rising junior Bohon was also in the pool for the 100 breaststroke. The Summerville, S.C., native placed 130th with a time of 1:05.20.

Bekemeyer came back in the afternoon to swim in the men’s 400 freestyle. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native placed second in his heat with a swim of 3:59.36, good for 61st in the final standings and 10 places higher than his seed.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

Four swimmers with South Carolina ties are in the pool Monday as U.S. Olympic Trials roll on. Alumnus Michael Flach will swim the 200 freestyle, while current Gamecocks Kersten Dirrane (100 breaststroke), Jonathan Boland (100 backstroke) and Taylor Worrell (400 freestyle) also take the Trials stage. Prelims begin at 11 a.m. ET, with live streaming available through the NBC Sports Live Extra app.