OMAHA, Neb. – LSU swimmer Brooks Curry became the first American swimmer in program history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team, placing fourth in the 100-meter free final of the Olympic Swimming Trials Thursday with a time of 48.19.
Curry joins 13 former Tigers to compete in the Olympics and is the first LSU swimmer to participate in the men’s 100-meter freestyle since Sion Brinn in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
“We witnessed something no LSU swimmer has ever done,” LSU associate head Coach Steve Mellor said. “Brooks made history for this program tonight. This is the most difficult team to make in all of sports, hands down, history shows this. The work that has gone on behind the scenes for this to happen took a village and Brooks is a product of a man that believed he could shock the world. Tonight he shocked the world.”
Curry, a native of Atlanta, Ga., qualified for the U.S. Swimming Trials in the 50-meter free and 100-meter free with times of 22.80 and 49.06, respectively. The two-time All-American participated in Wave II of the trials and earned a spot in the 100-meter free final on June 16 with a semifinal time of 48.51.
Curry, a 2020 SEC Champion, currently holds the school record in the 100-meter free, which sits at 41.81, nearly two seconds faster than the next swimmer.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to begin on July 23 and continue through August 8.
Be the first to comment