Once every four years, the best swimmers in the nation race each other for the right to represent the United States at the ultimate swim meet — the Olympics.
For many, just making it to the exclusive U.S. Olympic Trials is an impressive feat. In a sport that’s as much about the clock as the swimmer in the next lane, trials cut-off times are some of the fastest in swimming.
But the elite cuts won’t stop seven young swimmers representing Rockville Montgomery Swim Club, a national powerhouse club team based in Montgomery County, from participating at the meet June 29-July 6 in Omaha, Neb.
‘‘It’s the fastest meet in the world,” said 18-year-old RMSC swimmer Eric Friedland (Walter Johnson High graduate), who made cuts in the 100- and 200-meter breastroke this spring. ‘‘It’s harder to make finals at trials than at the Olympics.”
That could very well be true. Friedland’s generation races against stars such as Michael Phelps, originally from Baltimore, who is arguably one of the best swimmers of all time.
Sean Stewart (Wootton grad), who dropped an impressive seven seconds to make the cut in the 200-meter butterfly, said it will be hard to sit down during the star-studded meet.
‘‘I’m almost as excited to go watch as I am to swim,” the upcoming University of Maryland freshman said.
For 16-year-old Cara Chuang, the youngest of RMSC’s qualifiers, making it to trials was the logical next step after earning her Senior Nationals cuts at 14.
‘‘When I made it, it was like this huge weight off my shoulders.” she said. The Poolesville High rising junior will be racing against the likes of Olympian Natalie Coughlin in the 100-meter backstroke.
Another young qualifier is 17-year-old Brady Fox. He had been a hair off making the cut in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke for more than a year. But the Georgetown Prep rising senior finally made them at Senior Nationals, the same meet Chuang qualified for trials at.
‘‘That was my main focus,” Fox said.
For some swimmers already in college, making the decision to represent RMSC at trials was a little more difficult.
Katura Harvey is a rising sophomore at University of North Carolina who made the cut in the 400 freestyle at a last-chance meet a few weeks ago. She said she could have trained with North Carolina this summer but chose to come home to her club team.
‘‘A lot of people, they can’t come home because their club teams aren’t at the big level,” she said. ‘‘But this one really is.”
In the 200 butterfly, Mark Meyer (Whitman grad) was aiming for one of the only cut-off times faster than a trials cut, the Junior National Team.
This was his last chance to make the Junior National Team because he will be a freshman in the fall at the Naval Academy, where his older brother Adam is a junior, and he’ll be too old to make the team. But he said he’s focused on trials again.
‘‘I’m just excited that it’s finally here,” he said.
Adam Meyer, who also came home from college to swim with RMSC, said he was motivated to make the cut in the 200-meter individual medley because his younger brother already had his.
‘‘I was really close to it so I knew I could do it when I was fully rested,” he said.
Most of the swimmers made the trials cuts while they were rested, a fact that can make performing well at the actual meet difficult, RSMC coach Jim Williams said.
‘‘Trials are notorious for not having best times,” he said.
They’re also notorious for being pressure-filled. Only the top two in each event will represent America in Beijing this August.
Most of RMSC’s swimmers are nowhere near the top three, but Williams has seen a lot happen in his 40 years of coaching.
‘‘There’s no strategy besides be ready to go when it’s time to go,” he said.
Notes: Other RMSC swimmers from the county competing at the Olympic Trials, but not representing RMSC are Good Counsel grad Colleen Haase (University of Georgia) and Walter Johnson grad Michael Raab (University of Virginia). Georgetown Prep grad Josh Hafkin (University of North Carolina) qualified in the 100 back but will not participate because of an injury.
