Mania competes in 100 backstroke semifinals at Olympic Trials
June 30, 2008 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Former University of Wisconsin swimmer Adam Mania qualified for the semifinals of the men's 100-meter backstroke Monday at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials but was unable to advance on to the event's final round.
Mania tied for 14th in the semifinals during Monday's evening session at the Qwest Center, with him and David Russell clocking identical times of 55.18 seconds. The top eight finishers in the semis, led by Randall Bal and his winning time of 53.09, qualified for Tuesday's finals.
Earlier in the day, Mania clocked a time of 55.43 seconds to finish 15th overall in the prelims of the 100 back and, in the process, made the 16-swimmer field for the semifinals. Mania was fourth-fastest in his preliminary heat, which advanced four competitors into the semis. That included Bal, who posted the top qualifying time at 53.28. Mania's seed time entering the Trials was 54.99 seconds.
Also in the prelims of the 100 back, junior-to-be Derrick O'Donnell cut a half-second off his seed time to finish 33rd in 56.80, while senior teammate Mike Hopkins trimmed nearly eight-tenths of a second off his seed mark to take 42nd in 57.09. Also, UW alumnus Tim Liebhold was 48th-fastest with a time of 57.20.
Former Badger Carly Piper just missed a berth in the finals of the 400 freestyle, finishing 11th overall in the preliminary session in a time of 4:13.47. Katie Hoff posted the top time in the event, clocking in at 4:05.61.
Incoming freshman Ashley Wanland put up a strong showing in the women's 100 breaststroke by finishing 26th in prelims of the event in 1:10.54, while sophomore-to-be Maggie Meyer claimed the 39th-fastest mark to lead the way for the Badger contingent in the 100 backstroke. Meyer clocked in at 1:03.30, while rising juniors Sara Goff (67th, 1:03.92) and Candice Peak (80th, 1:04.13) also competed.
Natalie Coughlin ran away with the event, clocking a world-record time of 59.03 to enter the semifinals as the top qualifier.
In the men's 200 freestyle, former Badger Tim Liebhold posted the 26th-fastest time at 1:49.65, a significant improvement over his seed time of 1:50.57. Another UW alum, Dale Rogers, clocked the No. 65 prelims time by finishing in 1:52.98, just behind the 64th-place showing of incoming freshman Brett Nagle, who was 64th in 1:52.95.
