Ziegler punches her ticket to Beijing
Kate Ziegler is an Olympian.
The 20-year-old graduate of Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington qualified for the U.S. Olympic team by finishing second in the 400-meter freestyle June 30 at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb.
Ziegler’s personal best time of 4:03.92 was second to Katie Hoff of Baltimore and a little more than a second ahead of the fourth- and fifth-place finishers. Only the top two in each event qualify for the Olympics.
Hoff set a world record in the finals of the 400-meter individual medley June 29.
Ziegler and Hoff will be key components of what is shaping up to be one of the most impressive groups of U.S. swimmers ever assembled for an Olympic competition. Among those joining her in Beijing will be Michael Phelps, Aaron Piersol, Ryan Lochte, Katie Hoff, Natalie Coughlin and Brendan Hansen.
Ray Benecki, Ziegler’s club coach with the Fish, said after Monday night’s race that they were relieved, relaxed and happy. “Kate swam the race exactly as planned and it worked out very well,” he said. “We were not worried about her time. We just wanted to make sure she came in as number one or two. That is all that matters right now. That she did it in a best time was of course a fantastic way to finish her first final at trials.”
Ziegler is the second female swimmer from the Washington area to go to the Olympics, the first being Melissa Belote from Lee High School in Springfield who won three gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.
Benecki feels that Ziegler will be much more relaxed heading into her next events. Ziegler and Hoff competed in the preliminaries of the 200-meter freestyle July 1. Ziegler is seeded first in the 800-meter freestyle. Preliminaries for that event are scheduled for July 4, with finals July 5.
