Last Friday at the Longhorn Elite Invite in Austin, Georgia junior Megan Kingsley<\/strong> dislocated her knee while diving in for the 100 fly final. Kingsley had been the top seed out of prelims, but she pulled up after one dolphin kick and swam back to the wall.<\/p>\n

But Kingsley says that she still plans on going to Olympic Trials, which begin on June 26. She finished 11th in the 200 fly in her Trials debut four years ago, less than a second away from making the final, and she was third at NCAAs this past March in that event.<\/p>\n

Kingsley has had a history with knee trouble, having first dislocated her knee just after Olympic Trials in 2012 while she was still in high school. So when her knee popped out on the start and then immediately went back into place as she did her first dolphin kick, the pain she felt was very familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing that went through my mind was fear,\u201d Kingsley said. \u201cIt felt like almost my entire career, the past years I\u2019ve been working my butt off for this just flashed before my eyes. It was the most terrifying thing that I\u2019ve ever gone through.\u201d<\/p>\n

An MRI Tuesday revealed bone bruising and knee ligaments that were stretched but not torn. Doctors told Kingsley that recovery would be a two-to-three week process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me they would prefer me to not be swimming, but they left it up to me knowing that I\u2019ve had this injury before, and they understand that Trials is important,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But it took Kingsley a few days to decide that she would actually go for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided it would be better to try and know than to wonder the rest of my life what could have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kingsley recently shed her knee brace and is still on crutches, but she is already back in the pool. Currently, she is limited to pulling and can only push off the wall with her uninjured right foot. She hopes to begin moderate-paced kicking next week and add in turns shortly after. She says that she will wait as long as possible to practice starts, given that one of those caused the injury in the first place.<\/p>\n

Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle believes that despite the obviously-lousy timing of Kingsley’s injury, she has\u00a0the mental makeup to push through.<\/p>\n

“She\u2019s a little bit small in size, but she\u2019s tough,” Bauerle said. “Everything she comes by she comes by true hard work. I think that serves you well when you go through something like this. Her attitude has been as good as you could expect.”<\/p>\n

Kingsley\u00a0admits that it has been tough to stay positive over the last week\u2014she can hardly sleep as she deals with the pain in her knee\u2014but credits those closest to her for keeping her upbeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could not do it without my teammates, my family and my coaches,\u201d Kingsley said. \u201cThey just surround me every day and tell me that I\u2019m going to be okay. They let me be upset every now and then, but they\u2019re like, \u2018You\u2019re tough, you can handle it and you haven\u2019t worked through all of this for nothing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kingsley is qualified for Trials both IM events, but she has ruled those out as breaststroke kick would put too much pressure on her knees. Assuming all goes well over the next two weeks, she will contest the 100 fly beginning on June 26 and the 200 fly on June 29.<\/p>\n