The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hersey places eighth in 200m butterfly at Beijing Olympics
08.13.2008 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Aug. 13, 2008
BEIJING -- University of Texas incoming freshman Kathleen Hersey completed her first Olympics appearance by taking eighth in the 200-meter butterfly finals Thursday morning at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Hersey (Roswell, Ga./Marist H.S.) took eighth in 2:08.23 while China's Zige Liu obliterated Australian Jessicah Schipper's world record of 2:05.40, winning in 2:04.18. China's Liuyang Jiao also went under the world record to take silver in 2:04.72, and Schipper took the bronze in 2:06.26.
Hersey had tied for fifth in the semifinals with a new personal-best mark of 2:06.96, which would have been good for fourth in the finals.
A four-time gold medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games, Hersey locked up her trip to Beijing with a second-place finish in the 200m butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Trials in July. Hersey and eight other UT newcomers comprise the nation's top freshman class for the 2008-09 season, according to CollegeSwimming.com.
