Strong Showing For Loudoun Swimmers at Olympic Trials

Three Qualifiers Perform Well Despite Missing Beijing Cut

By Paul Tenorio

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

It wasn't the ideal start to the week for Stone Bridge graduate Megan Newell, who was making her first trip to the U.S. Olympic swim trials in Omaha, which ended Sunday. A tornado caused damage to the Qwest Center on her first day there, forcing the Virginia Tech senior to warm up in a 15-meter hotel pool. To add to that her Speedo LZR suit - the new technology many are crediting for the abundance of world records being set - was stuck in Chicago. But despite the bumpy start, by the end of the trials, Newell said her experience at one of her sport's biggest stages was nothing but positive.

"I remember walking into the pool and I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped and I was like 'Oh my gosh,'" Newell said. "It is an amazing experience. I think there were 10,000 people that first day, even at prelims, and I was just in awe. I looked all the way around and took it all in because I knew I was never going to experience it again unless I qualify in 2012."

Newell, Suzanne Schwee (Stone Bridge/Alabama) and Matt McLean (Potomac Falls/Virginia) were the three Loudoun County athletes who made the trip to the finals. And all three expressed excitement at competing against the world's best. But for McLean, who was the 2008 ACC Rookie and Swimmer of the Year, the trials also brought disappointment.

The rising sophomore had the most success in the meet of the three Loudoun grads, dropping substantial time in both the 200 and 400 freestyle. But McLean also finished agonizingly close to making cuts in the two events, placing as the top alternate for the finals in the 400 and semifinals in the 200. McLean finished ninth in the 400 freestyle, a race in which his suit ripped on the blocks, and 17th in the 200 freestyle - .01 of a second out of the semifinals.

"I was pretty disappointed. I feel like I did some things right but I feel like there were some things that I could have done better," Mc Lean said. "The feeling, to be honest, it's been eating away at me for the past week and a half. It just makes me sick, especially the 400."

McLean also finished 63rd in the 100 freestyle, and despite his struggles with the close calls in the 200 and 400, said he felt his work in the meet would help he and his team mates at Virginia when they return to collegiate competition. Newell, who qualified in the 100 meter butterfly, finished 110th, while Schwee finished 95th in the 100 backstroke. And while the two were out of range from qualifying for the semifinal or final heats, both agreed with McLean, saying the experience of competing at such a prestigious meet should help translate to their collegiate careers. For all three, the experience at this year's meet has provided a lesson as they look forward to the next trials in four years.

"I made trials about three weeks ago, so . . . I was just going for the experience, I wasn't going for finals, I wasn't tapered for the meet," Schwee said. "After going to that meet, I definitely want to be in the finals [in] four years. Hopefully the next four years I can do something; final, semifinals, anything."

Tagged: Old Dominion Swim League, swimming, swimming results

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