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USA’s Swimming Trials to Kick Off
This week’s US Paralympics Swimming Trials in Bismarck will be American athletes’ sole chance to qualify for London 2012 in the pool. 14 Jun 2012
USA's Rudy Garcia-Tolson competes at the Beijing 2008 Games.
Garcia-Tolson had 15 operations as a child before becoming a double-amputee, and he was just 20 years old when he won gold and set a new world record in the 100m Breaststroke SB7 at the Beijing 2008 Games.
The top American athletes will compete for their places in the London Aquatics Centre this week at the 2012 US Paralympics Swimming Trials, which begin on Thursday (14 June) and run for three days in Bismarck, North Dakota.
The competition is the sole selection for Swimming athletes from USA to qualify for the Games, and it will include major faces such as seven-time Paralympic gold medallist Jessica Long and two-time Paralympic gold medallist Rudy Garcia-Tolson.
Long won three golds at the Athens 2004 Paralympics at the young age of 12 and then captured another six, along with three new world records, at the Beijing 2008 Games.
The multi-Paralympic champion in the S8 classification was born in Siberia and adopted from a Russian orphanage at 13 months. Her legs were amputated at 18 months because of lower-leg anomalies, but with 20 world records under her belt, it is obvious nothing has stopped her.
Garcia-Tolson had 15 operations as a child before becoming a double-amputee, and he was just 20 years old when he won gold and set a new world record in the 100m Breaststroke SB7 at the Beijing 2008 Games.
The trials will be held at the Bismarck State College Aquatic and Wellness Centre, which features an eight-lane, 50-metre pool and is fully accessible.
Here is a complete schedule of the trials:
Thursday, 14 June
200m Freestyle S1-S5, S14
400m Freestyle S6-S13
400m Individual Medley SM6-SM14
50m Breaststroke SB1-SB3
100m Breaststroke SB4-SB14
800m Freestyle S1-S14
Friday, 15 June
50m Backstroke S1-S5
100m Backstroke S6-S14
200m Backstroke S1-S14
50m Freestyle S1-S13
200m Breaststroke SB1-SB14
100m Butterfly S8-S13
Saturday, 16 June
150m Individual Medley SM1-SM4
200m Individual Medley SM5-SM13
200m Butterfly S1-S14
100m Freestyle S1-S13
1500m Freestyle S1-S14
Related Images
Jessica Long posing for a portrait during the 2012 Team USA Media Summit on May 13, 2012 in Dallas, Texas.