The University of Minnesota’s Gophers Video Production team has featured three Minnesota-based swimmers in their latest episode of Minnesota In Focus.
The episode features Canadians Samantha Harding and Kierra Smith, as well as Austrian Jakub Maly, as the Gophers’ current most likely contenders for a berth to the Rio Olympic Games, after all three qualified for last year’s World Championships.
Smith, the 2015 NCAA Champion in the 200 yard breaststroke, is red-shirting her collegiate season and splitting time between Minneapolis and her home in Kelowna, British Columbia this season. She finished 8th at last summer’s World Championships in Kazan, Russia in the 200 meter breaststroke, and is Canada’s top overall breaststroker right now, though she’s contending with disqualification issues that plagued her World Championship qualifying meet last season.
Harding also swam at the World Championships, but her races were the open water 5k and 10k. She finished 19th and 27th, respectively, which relegates her to the Setubal, Portugal Olympic qualifier later this year if she hopes to qualify for the Olympics.
Maly has the easiest route in the relatively thinner Austrian system. He finished 21st in the 200 IM and 20th in the 400 IM at the World Championships, and his time in the latter (4:19.20) put him ahead of the Austrian selection time in the event. If he confirms the time this year, he’ll be qualified for the Olympic Games.
The Minnesota women are the four-time defending Big Ten Champions; the men were 6th at their Big Ten Championship meet last season.