The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Haas, Kibler claim U.S. Olympic Team spots
06.15.2021 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Former Longhorn Townley Haas and junior Drew Kibler go 2-3 in Tuesday’s 200 free final to punch their tickets to Tokyo.
OMAHA, Neb. — Former University of Texas star Townley Haas and junior Drew Kibler punched their tickets to the Tokyo Olympics by placing second and third, respectively, on Tuesday evening in the finals of the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming. Haas will compete for Team USA in the 200 free, while Kibler will join Haas on the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay.
The top-four finishers in the 200 free at the U.S. Olympic Trials earn spots on the official Team USA roster. Team USA may elect to add the fifth and sixth-place finishers to its relay pool when it announces the official roster on June 20.
Haas, who earned a gold medal on Team USA's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay in the Rio Olympics in 2016, will make his second appearance in the Olympic Games. Kibler will make his Olympic debut.
Kieran Smith won the event in a time of 1:45.29 and was followed by Haas in second (1:45.66). By claiming the top two spots in the final, Smith and Haas will compete for Team USA in the 200-meter freestyle. Kibler placed third in a personal-best time of 1:45.92, while Andrew Seliskar took fourth (1:46.34). Kibler and Seliskar will join Smith and Haas on the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay in Tokyo.
Freshman Carson Foster, who placed ninth in Monday's semifinals, was added to Tuesday's final after Luca Urlando decided to scratch to focus on the 200 fly. Foster finished eighth in Tuesday's final in a time of 1:46.67.
The Longhorns also were represented by a pair of swimmers in the evening semifinals of the 200-meter butterfly. Former Texas star Jack Conger placed 11th in a time of 1:57.84, while sophomore Cole Crane registered a 16th-place showing (2:00.73).
Preliminary Session Highlights
- Four Longhorns competed in the morning prelims of the 200-meter butterfly. Sophomore Cole Crane registered the 15th-best time in the prelims with a personal-best effort of 1:58.33, and former Longhorn Jack Conger had the 16th-best time in the morning (1:58.37) to advance to the evening semifinals. Junior Andrew Koustik placed 43rd (2:02.27), and sophomore Ethan Harder finished 47th (2:04.40).
Players Mentioned
