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On the sixth day of the US Olympic Swimming Trials, the two-time Olympian Erika Connolly was engaged in a historic sequence of events. The 25-year-old tied for sixth place in the Women's 100-meter freestyle event with her old friend from Tennessee Aquatics, Catie DeLoof.
During the initial event, DeLoof swam in lane 1, and Connolly swam in lane 8. Both swimmers registered a mark of 53.86 seconds, leading to a tie for sixth place. However, in the decisive swim-off contest, Connolly, the 2020 Olympian, emerged victorious after she touched the finishing line in 53.76 seconds to DeLoof's 53.80 seconds.
With this, Connolly solidified her place in the Women's 4x100-meter freestyle event of the quadrennial event in Paris, while DeLoof will have to wait for her Olympic berth (The top six finishers in the 100-meter freestyle automatically qualify for the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team).
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Besides Connolly and DeLoof, it was a nerve-wracking session for Matt Kredich, who trains both swimmers at Tennessee Aquatics in Knoxville. In an interview after the event, he said (via Sports Illustrated):
"I don’t remember which (swimmer’s name) I looked at first, but I looked up and saw ‘6’ and thought, ‘Cool'. Then I looked at the other and saw ‘6’ and said, ‘Wait a second."
Speaking about Catie DeLoof, he further stated:
“I am sad for Catie, I love her, she’s just such a great person who works super hard every day. I envisioned myself going to the Olympics with Catie, so that’s hard. I feel for her. But I’m also very excited and a little bit in shock."
Erika Connolly was engaged in another swim-off before the 100-meter freestyle finals
Beyond the dramatic swim-off that secured her spot in the finals, the 25-year-old Californian, Connolly, faced a similar challenge during the semi-final stages of the trials.
On that occasion, she was engaged in a tough battle with the University of Virginia swimmer, Anna Moesch, for the eighth spot. During the initial event, both Erika Connolly and Moesch touched the finishing line in 52.09 seconds, leading to a spin off.
During the swim-off, Connolly dominated the race and registered a mark of 53.92 seconds, while Anna Moesch managed to complete the race in 54.28 seconds. Owing to this victory, Connolly managed to escape from the jaws of defeat and qualify for the finals.
