In what was an extremely close race, Townley Haas<\/strong> powered to the wall to finish first in the men’s 200 freestyle. His final time of 1:45.66 was .01 faster than runner-up\u00a0Conor Dwyer.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Haas, who was seeded seventh coming into Omaha, dropped nearly two seconds to earn his first Olympic berth. The Texas sophomore\u00a0is the current NCAA, American, and U.S. Open record holder in the 200 yard freestyle.<\/p>\n

Haas said he didn’t feel too much pressure heading into the meet despite having such a successful short course season.\u00a0He said he felt nervous right before the race but was able to stay\u00a0relaxed.<\/p>\n

Haas, who also finished third in the 400 free earlier this week,\u00a0will be swimming the 100 free tomorrow.\u00a0The first time Olympian talked to the media about his race, staying relaxed,\u00a0and\u00a0the atmosphere at Texas under head coach\u00a0Eddie Reese.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n