UCLA swimmers stroke toward gold
Five Bruin women will attempt to qualify for Olympic team this
week in time trials
By A. CinQue Carter
Daily Bruin Contributor
Not to be outdone by other athletes making headlines across the
country, five Bruins will be facing trials over the next week. Time
trials, that is.
Beginning today in Indianapolis, sixth-year post-graduate
student Kristi Heydanek, senior Annette Salmeen and sophomores Jill
Jenkins and Lindsay Etter will visit the Indiana University/Purdue
University, Indianapolis Natatorium with hopes of joining the U.S.
Olympic team this summer in Atlanta. Of the 13 events featured, the
top-two qualifiers from each will be chosen to represent the U.S.
in the Olympic Games. There are 30 swimmers in each event.
But just to make this field and have an opportunity to qualify
is an accomplishment in itself.
"Of the 200,000 registered female swim athletes four years ago,
15 made the final cut," UCLA head coach Cyndi Gallagher said.
Gallagher has coached 27 All-Americans in her seven years of
coaching, including the four in the trials. She has been on the
national and international U.S. swimming coaching staff and has led
the Bruins to a second-place finish in the Pacific 10 standings
four of the last five seasons. As a swimmer, Gallagher won a bronze
medal in the 1979 World University games in Mexico City and
participated in the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Trials.
"I feel I bring experience to our program as both a former
national swimmer and current national coach," Gallagher said.
Heydanek, a 1995 graduate, is UCLA’s volunteer assistant coach
this year while doubling as a national team member. This past
summer, Heydanek brought home two gold medals from the World
University Games in Japan and is no foreigner to world-class
competition. Currently ranked ninth in the world in the 100
backstroke, she will swim both the 100 and 200 back at the trials
this weekend.
Salmeen, a three-time All-American, is the defending Pac-10
champion in the 100 and 200 butterfly. Ranked 16th in the world in
the 200 fly which will be held Thursday, Salmeen will also compete
in the 200 and 400 freestyle.
An academic All-American, Salmeen has a 3.94 GPA in chemistry.
Her best times this year are 50.82 in the 200 free, 1:57.00 in the
200 fly – both school records – and 54.59 in the 100 fly.
Etter, who competed at the Senior Nationals last summer, is the
Pac-10 runner-up in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. An All-American,
Etter will compete in both events, to be held tomorrow and
Saturday. Recently, at the Southern California Swim Invitational at
USC, Etter placed second in the 200 breast. At the Pac-10
championships, Etter set a school record in the same event with a
time of 2:13.12.
Jenkins is the final All-American in the bunch. At the Speedo
Cup, Jenkins – who will compete in the 100 free today and the 100
back on Friday – had her best times of the season in those events
with times of 50.82 and 55.46, respectively.
"The Olympic trials are a neat opportunity for all of us,"
Jenkins said. "It’s going to be fun. You dream about this when
you’re a little kid. I can’t believe it."Comments to
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