June 26, 2012
OMAHA, Neb. — Junior Michael Flach had a stellar showing in his first event at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials on Tuesday as he finished 36th overall in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.87.
Flach, who swam in one of the fastest heats of the event, got off to a strong start in the race but was unable to keep it going down the stretch. He finished 1.16 seconds out of making the top 16, which advanced to tonight’s semifinals.
“He did exactly what he had to do,” South Carolina head coach McGee Moody said of Flach, who took an Olympic redshirt to train for the Trials. “He put himself in the position that he had to be in and was right there at about 170 meters. It was right on his best time even with the finish. Given where he finished. It was pretty good. I’m still pretty comfortable going into his butterfly.”
Kyle Cormier, a former two-time All-American at Carolina, also swam in the event and recorded a time of 1:54.16 to tie for 110th.
After opening the Trials on Monday with a 24th-place finish in the 400 IM, rising junior Rachael Schaffer competed in her second event of the week as she swam in the 100 breaststroke and placed 97th overall with a time of 1:12.70.
“Rachael’s 100 breast was a solid swim for her,” Moody said. “All in all it was a pretty good day for us.”
The Gamecocks will have three swimmers in action on Wednesday. Flach will compete in his strongest event, the 200 butterfly. He enters the preliminaries seeded 11th with a time of 1:59.20. Schaffer and rising sophomore Annika Jonsson will both swim in the 200 IM. Schaffer is seeded 30th with a time of 2:16.44.
Preliminaries will get underway at 10 a.m. CT. Live results for each event and live video of all but the fastest preliminary heats will be available by clicking here. NBC and the NBC Sports Network will also provide live and same-day video of the heats and finals.
Tuesday, June 26
2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials
Omaha, Neb. – CenturyLink Center
Day 2 Preliminary Results
Men’s 200 Freestyle
36. Michael Flach 1:50.87
110. Kyle Cormier 1:54.16 (former Gamecock)
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
97. Rachael Schaffer 1:12.70
