Olivia Bray of the Virginia Gators was one of the youngest swimmers at the 2016 Olympic Trials. At 14, she competed in the 100 back, 200 back, and 100 fly. Her best finish was 33rd place in the 100 fly, going 1:00.21, a lifetime best. She was the highest finisher in that event for those born in 2001 or later, and only one other girl born in this century (Isabel Ivey, born 2000) finished ahead of her.
Bray has been one of the fastest youth swimmers in the country– before this weekend, she had three Trials swims under her belt as a 14-year-old and was ranked 3rd all-time in the 100y fly for the 13-14 age group. This weekend, though, Bray dropped a ton of huge swims, and went big personal bests in all of the races she swam.
The most impressive for Bray, as a butterflier, were her performances in the 100 and 200 fly. In the 100, she erupted for a 51.48, the #2 time in the 15-16 age group behind Beata Nelson’s 51.08. Meanwhile, in the 200 fly, she also dropped the hammer for a 1:54.21, the #2 time in the 15-16 age group as well, behind only the legendary Mary T. Meagher’s 1:52.99. Bray added a 23.87 in the 50 fly, too.
She was also fantastic in backstroke, going best times of 24.22 in the 50, 52.02 in the 100, and 1:55.74 in the 200. She now slots in at #4 all-time in the 100 and a tie for #45 in the 200.
Time Drops
| Event | Old PR | New PR | Time Drop |
| 50 free | 23.25 | 23.19 | -.06 |
| 100 free | 51.44 | 49.95 | -1.49 |
| 200 free | 1:48.26 | 1:46.37 | -1.89 |
| 50 back | 25.49 | 24.22 | -1.27 |
| 100 back | 53.68 | 52.02 | -1.66 |
| 200 back | 1:56.06 | 1:55.74 | -.32 |
| 50 fly | 24.75 | 23.87 | -.88 |
| 100 fly | 52.92 | 51.48 | -1.44 |
| 200 fly | 1:57.89 | 1:54.21 | -3.68 |
| 100 IM | 59.64 | 55.76 | -3.88 |
In addition, Bray was part of FOUR new 15-16 NAG relay records. Her 50 free and 100 free new bests in the chart above came from leading off the 200 and 400 free relays, along with her 100 back. In the 200 medley relay, she threw down a 23.15 butterfly split.
To put her times in familiar context– at the recent NCAA Women’s Championships, Bray would’ve been 7th in the 200 fly, made the B final in the 100 fly, and touched just outside of the B final for the 100 back, all at just 15 years old. She still has almost two full years in the 15-16 age group as she aged up in late November/early December, so keep an eye on her as she could do some serious damage to the NAG records before she turns 17 (or even 16).
Nice! It’s great to see young talent breaking through. Bray and Bayer could be our 200 flyers in Tokyo if they keep this up.
Adams??!
She sure is a major player
Watch for Tristen Ulett from Dynamo as well.
Talking about Cassidy Bayer, here’s a recent article on the USA swimming website.
http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&itemid=16372&mid=18528
America needs new talents on butterfly, especially in the 200, on the men’s side as well as on the women’s side. Most of US 200 fly swimmers struggle in long course right now. It’s such a different event in the big pool. You need much endurance.
Olivia Bray, Cassidy Bayer and Ruby Martin represent the future. And Katie McLaughlin isn’t old. There’s still a long way to go but that’s promising.
Really massive improvements on a wide spectrum of races during an in-season meet.
When these things happen, also considering that Olivia Bray is only 15 year-old, it’s very likely that much more has to come.
Another girl more than promising.., how many are they? Regan Smith, Claire Tuggle, Isabel Ivey, the Walsh sisters etc etc
#OslinAtWorlds when Connor was 15 he was outside shooting jumpers all night. He would call for his mom to come watch him, and subsequently miss the shot she watched. Some say his jumper is “broken” but I guess we will have to wait and see what GMs think when draft time rolls around.
how is this even remotely related to this topic? If you enjoy spamming things, go to youtube and watch clickbait
What year was Anya Goeders born? She was 9th in the 50 free at trials.
Oh, I meant that she was the highest finisher at her age for that event, the 100 fly. Will edit and clarify.
Not bad
whoa, certainly someone to watch closely! so fast