Byron Sanborn (’12) just finished swimming his 200-meter breaststroke race, finishing in 87th place, and here’s what he had to say about his performance today.
“I swam my 200-meter breaststroke today and it went fairly well. At a meet where the minority of about 30% actually gets [personal] best times, I was only .2 seconds off of my best, which moved me up 45 spots in the rankings. I would have liked to have been faster but it wasn’t a bad swim.”
Athletes have to swim in the qualifying round in all events and semi-final round in selected events, but NBC and other television stations tend to only broadcast the final round races that determine who punches his ticket to London.
“Finals have been an incredible spectacle every night, with laser shows, heart-pounding race finishes, a waterfall light display and pyrotechnics so massive you can feel it across the 50-meter pool,” Sanborn said.
Sanborn and the rest of the PASA Olympic Trials athletes including Vikings Andrew Liang (’14) (who will swim in the 50-meter freestyle Saturday morning) and Jasmine Tosky (who will swim in the 200-meter IM finals tonight) until the meet concludes Sunday evening.
From June 24, 2012:
The 2012 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials are less than 24 hours away, and Paly’s own Byron Sanborn (’12) is preparing for the 200-meter breaststroke race set for Thursday. He has already been preparing in Omaha, Nebr. for a day along with 13 other Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics (PASA) swimmers including Paly Viking Jasmine Tosky (’12).
Here’s what Sanborn has to say about the whole experience thus far.
“So far we’ve already been here two days, getting used to the facilities and time difference (two hours ahead of Calif.), loosening up in the water in the mornings and resting in the hotel in the afternoons to stay fresh. Each day more and more athletes arrive, and the pool steadily fills up. On deck are Olympic veterans and hopefuls from pro teams, colleges and age group teams too. The energy of the atmosphere is building as we approach the first day of competition, which is tomorrow.”
On the pool: “It is AWESOME. There are two full length long course pools, the warm up pool is on a raised stadium and the competition pool is in the center of a massive amphitheater. All around the water are screens displaying the Olympic rings and American emblems, and above is a set of six huge screens facing in all directions.”
On the additional facilities: “In addition to the great pool there are rooms filled with massage tables and an athlete lounge with snacks and video games and TV’s for between events. It should be a fun and exciting meet, and we’re all excited to get started.”
You can check out Sanborn and the rest of the Swim Trials starting tomorrow at 3:30 pm on NBC Sports Network or tune into The Viking’s live coverage of the events.
