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Michigan women get a chance at 'ultimate dream'

Fear, anxiety, optimism and excitement are among the different emotions that run through the heads of the Michigan women's swimming team as it prepares for the Olympic Trials.

The Wolverines qualified an astounding 14 swimmers for this year's Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. Each individual type of swimming race requires different standards in order to make Olympic Trials. From the summer of 1994, many collegiate swimmers in the United States have strived to qualify for what some call the "fastest meet in the world."

"It's a really hyped meet," Michigan sophomore Kerri Hale said. "The ultimate dream for swimming is to make the Olympic Team."

After struggling through injuries and illness the entire year, the Wolverines are finally healthy and ready to display their explosiveness in Indianapolis.

"The people that are tapering are going to be very-well prepared," Michigan sophomore Talor Bendel said.

Even though the Wolverines optimistically await the Olympic Trials, a number of swimmers are in the unfortunate predicament of having to choose between peaking at the Olympic Trials or the NCAA Championships. The Olympic Trials take place 10 days before NCAAs in Ann Arbor.

"The powers that be did not work things out to allow the athletes to have a peak at the NCAAs and the Olympic Trials," Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. "It's not a good situation."

The swimmers are relegated to making a decision between one or the other. Richardson felt that the rationale depended on the kind of chance that a swimmer has of making the Olympics. If there is a slim likelihood that an athlete will make the Olympic team, she should target her peak performance for the NCAAs.

Nevertheless, the Olympics remain a dream that the majority of the swimmers attempt to accomplish.

"It is a dream that every kid has by the time they start an amateur sport," Richardson said.

Hale echoed Richardson's sentiments.

"I would be honored to represent my country in the Olympics," Hale said. "It's an unreal experience, and I can't compare it to anything."

Each swimmer on the team takes a slightly different approach to the Olympic Trials. Junior Melissa Stone made the decision to shoot for the NCAAs because she feels she has a better opportunity to perform well. Yet she recognizes the difficulty that her fellow team members have encountered.

"We are all at different levels," Stone said. "Some are resting and some are swimming through the Olympic Trials."

Similarly, Bendel decided that the team-oriented NCAAs would take priority over the Olympic Trials.

"It's pretty much a long shot," Bendel said. "I am not sure that I would take first or second. There are a few people with very legitimate shots, but you can never really tell."

Richardson said that swimmers like Anne Kampfe and Rachel Gustin could possibly rise to the challenge by coming through with lifetime best swims.

"On a given day, Anne Kampfe has a shot," Richardson said. "The mind state of the swimmer is that `I am going to do everything I can to swim faster than I have done before.'"