The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Escobar wins 800m freestyle heat at Beijing Olympics
08.14.2008 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Aug. 14, 2008
BEIJING -- University of Texas junior Susana Escobar won an Olympic swimming heat for the second time in four days Thursday evening, taking heat two in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Representing her native Mexico, Escobar claimed the event's second heat in 8 minutes, 33.51 seconds and placed 18th overall in the 35-swimmer field. Great Britain's Rebecca Adlington landed the top seed in the semifinals in 8:18.06.
Escobar wraps up a standout performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a pair of top-20 individual finishes after placing 20th in the 400m freestyle on Aug. 10. She added a 30th-place finish in the 400m IM on Aug. 9.
Texas volunteer assistant women's swimming coach Kirsty Coventry, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 200m backstroke, opened preliminary-round competition in that event by qualifying first for the semifinals in a new Olympic record time of 2:06.76. Coventry's 200m backstroke semifinal will air live Thursday on NBC at 9:32 p.m. Central.
