Albert Lea’s Lindsey Horejsi competes in her 1st of 2 Olympic Trials events
Published 7:25 am Tuesday, June 28, 2016
By Colleen Harrison, Albert Lea Tribune
While Albert Lea swimmer Lindsey Horejsi may have missed making the semifinals in one of her events at the U.S. Olympic Trials, she still set a personal record.
Horejsi said she posted a 1:08.82 in the 100-meter breaststroke preliminaries Monday morning at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Having swam a 1:09.37 to qualify for the trials event in 2014, Horejsi said the result was her personal best in the event, leading her to finish in 19th place out of 125 listed participants in the event. With one swimmer scratching as of Monday afternoon, Horejsi’s place moved up to 18th. The top 16 finishers in the event advanced to the semifinals later Monday evening, with the top eight places from the semifinals advancing to today’s 100-meter breaststroke finals.
“I was 24th going into it, so I was happy getting 19th,” she said.
The first-place finish from Monday night’s semifinals was Lilly King of Evansville, Indiana, with a time of 1:05.94. According to a press release, King currently ranks No. 2 in the world in the 100-meter breaststroke for 2016.
Horejsi planned to watch Monday night’s semifinals as well as today’s finals, and felt good about her performance.
“It felt really good today,” she said. “I felt I was going too slow at first … but I actually went fifth fastest opening split overall.”
This year’s Olympic Trials are Horejsi’s second time competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic swimming team. She qualified for the trials in the 100-meter breaststroke four years ago, but returns this time to compete not just in that event, but in the 200-meter breaststroke, as well. In her last time at the trials in 2012, Horejsi said she came in 88th place in the 100-meter breaststroke event.
The preliminaries for the 200-meter breaststroke are set to start after 10 a.m. Thursday, with specific heat times being announced closer to the event.
No matter the outcome, Horejsi said she was glad to be where she was.
“It’s really fun, the atmosphere is great,” she said. “It helps having a lot of family and friends here.”
After her performance Monday morning, Horejsi said she was ready for her next challenge.
“Now it’s time to mentally prepare for the 200 breaststroke,” she said.
