Indiana swimming put three through to the semifinals of the women’s 200m Breaststroke and added a fourth semifinalist in the men’s 200m Backstroke during the morning preliminary heats on day five of the 2020 Olympic Trials at the CHI Health Center on Thursday morning.
The Wave II eight-day Trials competition serves as the sole qualifier for pool swimmers on the U.S. Olympic Team for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The top 16 times out of the preliminary heats will form the semifinals for all events at 200m or less, with the top eight semifinalists advancing to the finals. In events 400m or longer, the top eight swimmers out of the preliminary heats will head straight to the finals.
Athletes will earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team roster at each of the eight finals sessions.
200m BACKSTROKE
Wave I qualifier Jacob Steele stormed through the preliminary heats with a time of 2:00.28 to earn a second swim in the 200m Backstroke. He will be seeded 11th overall in the semifinals after entering the competition seeded 36th.
200m BREASTSTROKE
Indiana Swim Club pro swimmer Annie Lazor dominated the preliminary heats of the 200m Breaststroke with a time of 2:26.63, 1.72 seconds faster than the second-place qualifier. Gold medalist Lilly King cruised to an easy victory in the penultimate heat with a time of 2:25.82 to finish third overall. Senior-to-be Mackenzie Looze dropped 2.4 seconds off her seed time to swim a lifetime-best mark of 2:29.87 and place 14th.
All three swimmers earned semifinal swims in the event.
Hoosier All-American Noelle Peplowski placed 20th at 2:30.76. Rising junior Emily Weiss closed out her 2020 trials with a time of 2:35.01 to finish 40th.
200m IM
Sophomore-to-be Tristan DeWitt, who earned a spot in the trials by winning the 200m IM during the first wave, closed out his week with a 43rd-place effort in the preliminaries with a time of 2:05.67.
FINAL RESULTS
MEN’S 200m BACKSTROKE
- Jacob Steele – 2:00.28 ^
WOMEN’S 200m BREASTSTROKE
- Annie Lazor – 2:23.63 ^
- Lilly King – 2:25.82 ^
- Mackenzie Looze – 2:29.87 ^
- Noelle Peplowski – 2:30.76
- Emily Weiss – 2:35.01
WOMEN’S 200m IM
- Tristan DeWitt – 2:05.67
Advanced to Semifinals ^
The evening session will begin at approximately 7:45 p.m. tonight with Hoosier representation in the semifinals of the men’s 200m Backstroke and women’s 200m Breaststroke with finals in the men’s 100m and 800m Freestyle events.
