Penn Charter's Reece Whitley falls short at Olympic swim trials
OMAHA, Neb. - He is just 16 and these were his first U.S. Olympic trials, so while his fellow swimmers buzzed easily around the pool deck during warm-ups Wednesday night, Reece Whitley bent his 6-foot-8 frame low, leaned against the starting blocks, and closed his eyes.
OMAHA, Neb. - He is just 16 and these were his first U.S. Olympic trials, so while his fellow swimmers buzzed easily around the pool deck during warm-ups Wednesday night, Reece Whitley bent his 6-foot-8 frame low, leaned against the starting blocks, and closed his eyes.
If it was a pregame prayer, it wasn't answered.
Whitley, the rising - in several senses of that word - Penn Charter junior, who some in the swimming world suggest could one day be the greatest breaststroker ever, failed to qualify for the 200-meter breaststroke final, finishing sixth in his semifinal. Earlier in the week, his 100-meter experience ended at the same juncture.
Kelsi Worrell of Mount Holly had better luck. The 22-year-old Louisville student earned an Olympic spot by winning the 100-meter butterfly earlier this week in her initial trials appearance. On Wednesday night she qualified for the 200 final.
Afterward, downcast and not wanting to talk, Whitley walked off alone toward the swimmers' area inside Century Link Arena, his first taste of the pressure surrounding the Olympics complete.
"I felt like I really didn't show what I had," Whitley said of his 100-meter experience earlier Wednesday just after finishing third in his qualifying heat. "I was kind of jittery because it was my first trials."
Because of those nerves, he tried a new routine for the 200, breathing slowly, using music to relax instead of arouse.
"Before the 100, I tried to get hyped and that wasn't the right move," he said. "I was trying to listen to music, mostly to hype me up. Today I'm using the music just as something to keep me going mentally. I'm keeping my breaths long and not really smacking myself up or jumping around too much. I'm just trying to think about the race."
It seemed to work initially. He was happy with his morning performance, his time of 2 minutes, 12.85 seconds sending him on to the semifinals. Seeded ninth among the 200-meter breaststrokers, he knew he'd be on the bubble in the nighttime semis that would send only the top eight to Thursday's finals.
Starting from Lane 6 in the faster of the two semifinals, the one with 100-meter breaststroke winner Kevin Cordes, Whitley began well, his lengthy frame gobbling up distance as he dove into the water. But after a quick 50 meters, he began to fade. And when his fate became clear, he faded more.
His time of 2:15.18 was well off his morning performance and 7.37 seconds behind Cordes' winning time.
"Whether or not I swim well enough to make a spot on the team," he'd said in the morning, "just having this experience is a really good setup for the next four years. It will make 2020 that much more special for me."
Whitley's race came just minutes after Michael Phelps earned a trip to a record fifth Olympics with a victory in the 200-meter butterfly finals
"That was maybe the hardest race I've had," said Phelps, the winner of 22 Olympic medals. "I didn't feel great the first two [his heat and semifinal] and it was the same tonight. But I fought through it and now I've got a couple of weeks to get ready for Rio."
Meanwhile, Katie Ledecky, the world's most dominant swimmer, continued her freestyle mastery, winning the 200-meter free, two nights after she romped in the 400.
"I knew if I could get out front and then close like I usually do, I'd be fine," Ledecky said.
Missy Franklin, the four-time gold-medal winner at London in 2012 who disappointed in the 100 backstroke Tuesday, finished second behind Ledecky to guarantee herself a trip to Rio.
"It's a challenge," Ledecky, a distance specialist, said of the shorter 200, "but I'm enjoying it more and more. It's all about racing. I always feel like I swim it differently each time I swim it."
@philafitz