Liebhold Wins 200 IM Championship
August 07, 2005 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Former University of Wisconsin swimmer Tim Liebhold (Chapel Hill, N.C.) today won the 200-meter IM at the 2005 ConocoPhillips National Championships, finishing with a time of 2:01.75.
Liebhold, who just completed his eligibility at UW, broke a U.S. Olympic Trial record (previously 2:07.39) with his time. He edged second-place finisher Brian Johns of UBC Dolphins by 0.45 seconds.
"For Tim to do what he did was a huge accomplishment, to say the least," Badger head coach Eric Hansen said. "It's a huge step for Tim and our program. We couldn't be more proud of him."
Liebhold churned out a time of 2:03.65 in the preliminary round to finish third and qualify for the final. UW junior-to-be Tom Molzahn (Barrington, Ill.), meanwhile, took 27th in the prelims but did not advance.
Earlier in the day, Liebhold grabbed third in the 400-meter IM (4:20.86), 14th in the 200-meter backstroke (2:04.19) and 19th in the 100-meter backstroke (57.30).
In other top-16 results, recent Badger Adam Mania (Hickman, Neb.) placed seventh in the 100-meter backstroke (56.10), senior-to-be Anna Trinidad (Colorado Springs, Colo.) ended up 14th in the 200-meter backstroke (2:17.67) and senior-to-be Amalia Sarnecki (Ann Arbor, Mich.) finished 14th in the 100-meter backstroke (1:12.39).
