UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Senior Charlotte Brackett is spending her Spring Break across the pond in England this week preparing to compete in the prelims of the 50 free on Friday at the British Olympic Trials in London. Friday's 50 free prelims are set to get underway at 9 a.m. (GMT) at London's Aquatics Centre.
"Charlotte is excited about the opportunity ahead of her this week," said head coach Matt Barany, who has joined Brackett in London. "She will be among the few swimmers present who are NCAA student-athletes and thus having to make the quick transition from short-course to long-course. Nevertheless, Charlotte has worked hard to put herself in a good position to compete and comes into the race with confidence after her recent performances at A-10s."
Brackett (Bethel, Pa./Bethel Park) qualified for the 2012 Trials after turning in a time of 26.72 at August's Super Sectionals hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, putting her well under the Trials qualifying standard of 26.88. Should Brackett advance through to semifinals, those heats will be held on Friday evening with finals slated for Saturday night.
The Richmond and Atlantic 10 record-holder in the 200 free, Brackett captured gold in both the 100 and 200 free at February's A-10 Championships. She currently ranks third in the Spider record books in the 100 free and fourth in the 50 free. Brackett is also a member of all five of the Spiders' record-holding relay squads, including the 200 and 400 medley relays that reset the conference marks at February's A-10 Championships.
A pair of Spiders in junior Lauren Hines (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley) and sophomore Mali Kobelja (Fort Wayne, Ind./R. Nelson Snider) have also qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials. The tandem will take part in the U.S. Olympic Trials scheduled for June 25-July 2 in Omaha, Neb.
Stay updated on Brackett's Olympic Trials trip and all the latest Spider Swim & Dive news and notes right here on RichmondSpiders.com. More information on the Spiders can be found by visiting the program's official Facebook and Twitter pages. Live results for the British Gas Swimming Selection Trials are available here.
