Gamecocks Close Out U.S. Olympic Trials
July 2, 2016
OMAHA, Neb. – The University of South Carolina swimming team completed their time at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday, with Meredith Vay and Cody Bekemeyer in action at the CenturyLink Center. Vay made her Trials debut in the 50 freestyle, while Bekemeyer swam his third event, the 1500 freestyle.
Bekemeyer led the way on Saturday, finishing 43rd. Vay came home in 123rd in her first race at the grandest stage in American swimming.
Quoting Head Coach McGee Moody
“We finished up our last races of the meet this morning. I thought they were good. Cody Bekemeyer finished with a lifetime best in the 1500, which good for him. We’re very proud of him.
As far as the meet as a whole goes, I think it was a success for us. We did some really good things. We had a lot of personal bests, and that’s always our goal. We achieved that. Now we’re going to look to training for the rest of the summer and getting our athletes ready for Rio.”
RECAP
First up for the Gamecocks was Vay, who was swimming the women’s 50 freestyle. Vay took sixth in her heat and 123rd overall with a time of 26.54.
Also in the pool for South Carolina was Cody Bekemeyer who set a personal best in the 1500 freestyle with a time of 15:42.67. That time earned him the 49th spot overall. Bekemeyer finished 29 positions above his seed.
NOTABLE
- With the week in Omaha now complete, rising sophomore Emma Barksdale will go down as the most successful of the Gamecocks at Olympic Trials. Barksdale finished 14th in the 400 IM and 17th in the 200 IM.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks will now turn their attention to the Summer Olympics in Rio. Rising junior Akaram Mahmoud will swim for Egypt, with his first event beginning Aug. 6. Julia Vincent competes in 3-meter diving for South Africa, with prelims to be held Aug. 12.
