The action at the Olympic Trials for swimming at Indianapolis, Indiana was witnessed by several JCAY Barracuda families and swimmers.
The Brendenkoetters; Julia and Dave and their swimming sons’ Jackson and Cooper went to watch Katie Ledecky swim the 1500 Freestyle. Wearing his new swimsuit purchased at the event’s Aqua Fan Zone, Jackson, age 10, said it was exciting watching Katie Ledecky swim the 1500. “ She barely kicked except for the last length. She was only kicking every 4 strokes.” Cooper, age 13, sporting a new Olympic Trials swim cap said that “it was crowded. In the morning for the prelim swims, you could sit anywhere. People basically came to see Katie Ledecky swim in the finals.”
To dad Dave, the most exciting thing was the crowd and how they reacted to everybody. “Hearing everybody get loud at the last hundred meters and the last turn for the final 50. When you hear the interviews at the end they are just as tired as you think they would be.” Dave went on to say “… at the end of the interview; Katie Ledecky; who wins by 20 seconds, says that she wishes she could have put a better show on. It was exciting that the kids were engaged, and it was a lot fun seeing it in person.”
Parents Jeff and Kristy Naught and swimmer Keller, age 10, also attended the Trials to watch Katie Ledecky swim the 800 Free. Keller acknowledged that Katie Ledecky is her favorite swimmer. When asked about the most exciting things for her she answered “… two things; getting to see Katie Ledecky swim the 800 Free and swimming with Missy Franklin.” Keller had a special opportunity to swim with Franklin, a five time Olympic Champion in the Trials pool and she also got to see Rowdy Gaines, and Cullen Jones. Both Gaines and Jones are past Olympians. Gaines is also a swimming analyst for NBC Sports. What kind of advice did Missy Franklin give her? “More rotation on her backstroke.” She liked the Fan Zone but added “snow cones.”
Dad Jeff when asked about the excitement of the Trials said “ For me as a parent seeing the excitement through Kellers eyes. For myself, not coming from a swimming background; and hearing Keller rattling off names and stats that I have never been familiar with was really cool. Just seeing her excitement made it 10 times more exciting for us.”
About the crowds he said “Coming into the City there were banners on all of the tall buildings which was really neat. They had a record attendance of 23,000 which was really cool. Just the excitement and seeing the crowd applaud all of the athletes and the awards ceremonies were really special too.”
A former Barracuda swimmer, Annaliese Bowser, now swimming for St. Ambrose University in Davenport Iowa also attended the Trials with some of her teammates. Annaliese, second from the right in the photo below. Photo 1: Julia, Jackson, Dave and Cooper Brendenkoetter; Photo 2: Cooper, Jackson and Julia Brendenkoetter; Photo 3: Olympic Trials Pool which was in Lucas Oil Football Stadium
Keller Naught & Missy Franklin
Annaliese Bowser, second from right, with teammates
