June 28, 2012

OMAHA, Neb. — South Carolina junior swimmer Michael Flach’s incredible run in the 200 butterfly at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials came to an end on Thursday night as he finished eighth in the finals at the CenturyLink Center.

Flach swam a time of 1:59.43 to record one of the best finishes ever by a South Carolina swimmer at the U.S. Trials. Despite falling short of claiming one of two spots on the U.S. Olympic Team, South Carolina head coach McGee Moody couldn’t have been more pleased with the performance of his All-American swimmer.

“Words can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of Mike and how he’s done at this meet and throughout his career and what he’s done for this program,” Moody said. “I know there was a lot of pressure on him this last year, and he’s reached almost every goal that we set for him. I know he’s hurt he didn’t make the team, but it gives us something to work toward in the future.

“Not only am I proud of Mike, but I’m proud of (associate head coach) Jason Memont who has worked tirelessly to make sure our middle distance and distance groups are as prepared as they can be.”

Flach, who took an Olympic redshirt this season to focus all of his training on the Trials, became the first Gamecock swimmer to make the finals since South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Wade King, who finished fifth in the 100 butterfly at the 1988 Trials.

Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps won the event with a time of 1:53.65, which is the best time in the world this year. Tyler Clary claimed the second spot on the U.S. Team with a time of 1:55.12.

A native of Annandale, Va., Flach will swim in his final event at the Trials on Saturday when he takes the blocks in the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly.

Carolina has three swimmers slated to swim in Friday’s preliminaries. Rising junior Rachael Schaffer will swim in the 200 breaststroke. On the men’s side, rising junior Matt Navata and former Gamecock Kyle Cormier will compete in the 200 IM.

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.

Thursday, June 28
2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials
Omaha, Neb. – CenturyLink Center
Day 4 Finals Results
Men’s 200 Butterfly
8. Michael Flach 1:59.43