Flashback! Four Years Ago Today…

By Sarah Tolar

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. August 12. THE date August 12, 2000 will be forever marked as the day a legend began.

"Began" probably isn't the best word. Maybe "came to be known" is a little closer.

It was Day Four of the US Olympic Swimming Trials. The men’s 200 fly final dove into the water, led predictably in lane four by Olympic silver medalist and world record holder, Tom Malchow. The rest of the field was fighting for the second spot, when a 15-year-old from Baltimore flew by with a miraculous 30.02 split on his last 50, the fastest final length of the heat by over half a second.

This 15-year-old, named Michael Phelps, touched second, making him the youngest male on a US Olympic swim team in 68 years. Phelps’ breakthrough performance wowed the Indianapolis crowd and sparked an interest in the critics. Only time would tell whether this teenager was a mere fluke who had the race of his life or if he had the longevity to make a career of it.

Later that evening, the women stepped up to the blocks for the 200 IM final. The race was wide open, and the two Olympic spots were any woman’s for the taking. Although she was the most unlikely of suspects, Gabrielle Rose saw her opportunity and seized it. Before the US Trials, she had turned down the opportunity to compete at the Olympics, representing Brazil, as she had in 1996 – she wanted the chance to represent the US.

She had hung on by the skin of her teeth through prelims, where she qualified in 16th place with a time of 2:19.77, for a spot in semis. That night, she squeaked into the final in seventh place, with a 2:16.70. In the final, from outside in lane eight, Rose scrapped her way onto the Olympic team, touching in second behind Cristina Teucher, qualifying herself for her second Olympic Team, representing two different countries.

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