London’s Calling: Davis Tarwater and Alyssa Anderson

PHOENIX, Arizona, July 5. THERE is one less day in our countdown to the London Olympic Opening Ceremonies on July 27th, and one day closer to the athletic event so spectacular the world can only handle one every four years.

With only one shot every four years to make their country's Olympic Team, athletes experience heartbreak when they narrowly miss the margin.

Today, Swimming World profiles two athletes that just managed to make the cut, and earn themselves a spot on Team USA's 800 freestyle relay.

Davis Tarwater:

Due to NBC rights holder restrictions, the following video interview is only viewable until 7/27/2012:

28-year-old Davis Tarwater (born March 24, 1984) nearly missed the Olympic Team when he placed seventh Sunday night in the 200 freestyle. It wasn't until Tuesday, when Tarwater was en route back to Charlotte, North Carolina, that he learned of Phelps withdrawing from the 200 freestyle.

This move by Phelps to focus on seven events in London, instead of eight, allowed Tarwater a spot on Team USA's 800 freestyle relay.

“When I got the news I was totally elated,” Tarwater told the Winston-Salem Journal. “In fact, elated doesn't even capture my true emotion.”

Elation seems like the proper emotion, considering Tarwater was set to retire after his race Sunday night. At the Olympic Trials in 2008, Tarwater placed third in the 200 fly, narrowly missing an individual spot on Team USA's Olympic roster.

Tarwater is a 2006 graduate from Michigan, where he trained under Jon Urbanchek and Bob Bowman. In his time at Michigan, he was a back-to-back 200 fly NCAA Champion in 2005 and 2006.

Currently, he trains under David Marsh at Charlotte SwimMAC. Marsh will join Tarwater in London as a member of the men's Olympic coaching staff.

The men's 800 freestyle relay is set to air July 31st.

Alyssa Anderson

Due to NBC rights holder restrictions, the following video interview is only viewable until 7/27/2012:

Last week, 21-year-old Alyssa Anderson (born September 30, 1990) joined her sister, Haley, on the USA Olympic Team. She placed sixth in the 200 freestyle, earning her a spot on the women's 800 freestyle relay. Haley, who Swimming World profiled on Tuesday, is competing in the Open Water 10k in London.

After the 200 freestyle finals, Alyssa told Swimming World that her sister, Haley, was actually receiving an honor that very night. The honor, in conjunction with Alyssa's swim “…makes it a pretty special night for the Andersons.”

“It means the world,” Alyssa said in reference to her sister qualifying for the team in early June. “It definitely gave me some fuel leading up to the Olympic Trials.”

Anderson finished up her collegiate swimming eligibility this past year at the University of Arizona, where she swam under new head coach Eric Hansen. Before Hansen, she swam for three years under previous U of A head coach Frank Busch, who retired from the position in 2011.

During her collegiate career, Anderson was a 16-time All-American and holds the U of A school record in the 500 freestyle.

The women's 800 freestyle relay is set to air August 1st.

Written and posted by Shoshanna Rutemiller
@ShoshyJean

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