Despite a tremendous effort, UCLA junior Kim Vandenberg failed
to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in the 200-meter butterfly on
Sunday at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Long Beach.
Her time of 2:11.24 put her in fifth place, 1.3 seconds behind
the top two, Dana Kirk and Kaitlin Sandeno, who both qualified for
the Olympics.
Though she will not travel to Athens to compete for the United
States, Vandenberg did very well throughout the trials, reaching
the semifinals in the 100m butterfly as well as the finals in the
200m.
In an unexpected and close finish in the 200m semifinals on
Saturday, Vandenberg won her heat with a time of 2:11.62, besting
USC’s Kaitlin Sandeno by .09 seconds and the current American
record holder, Misty Hyman by .17 seconds.
“It was so close, it was just a matter of who touched the
wall first,” said Cindy Gallagher, UCLA’s swimming
coach.
Vandenberg’s time was nearly two seconds better than her
qualifying time from the first round. She steadily improved through
all three rounds.
“Kim gave a championship effort,” Gallagher said.
“She swam her best time. Everything had to go perfect for
her, but she made a couple of mistakes at the end. She just swam a
little too hard. This is a good experience for her.”
Kristen Lewis, who recently completed her senior season at UCLA,
also advanced to the semifinals in both the 200m and the 100m
butterfly. Though neither Vandenberg nor Lewis made it to the
finals of the 100m, Vandenberg swam a lifetime best 1:00.36, with
Lewis not far off that mark with a 1:01.35.
Lewis also finished with a time of 2:16.12 in the 200m
semifinals.
On Thursday, two other seniors from 2004’s team also
competed. Naoko Watanabe placed 39th in the 100m backstroke, while
Jackie Lobdell placed 39th in the 400m freestyle. Meanwhile,
sophomore Jane Imagane placed 54th, also in the 400m.
Watanabe and Lobdell finished about a second off their career
best times, while Imagane finished about two seconds off her career
best.
Also on Sunday, graduated senior Sara Platzer placed 37th in the
100m freestyle, and graduated senior Cathy Coler placed 47th in the
200m breaststroke.
Watanabe and Imagane will compete again on Monday with Watanabe
swimming in the 200m backstroke and Imagane in the 800-meter
freestyle.
Sophomore Katie Nelson still has yet to compete. She will race
on Monday in the 800m freestyle. Platzer, who is the last Bruin to
compete in the trials, will give it a go on Tuesday in the 50m
freestyle.