UIC's Booher surpasses Olympic Trial qualifying standard in 50-meter freestyle

Aug. 4, 2006

Irvine, Calif.- After qualifying for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials with a time of 23.39 in the freestyle on Thursday in Irvine, Calif., UIC senior Blake Booher marked another stellar performance in the consolation final Friday night.

Booher shaved .02 seconds off his previous time to claim 19th-place in the free at the USA Swimming National Championships. For complete results from the competition, please visit www.usaswimming.org.

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Aug. 3, 2006

Irvine, Calif. - Of course, University of Illinois at Chicago swimmer Blake Booher is looking forward to the 2006-2007 season, his senior year.

Now, thanks to a special performance at the USA Swimming National Championships, he is able to look forward to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials as well.

The Barrington, Ill., native finished his 50-meter freestyle preliminary race in 23.39 on Thursday night (Aug. 2), surpassing the Olympic qualifying standard of 23.49. He finished in 22nd and will compete Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. (Central) at the William Woollett, Jr., Aquatic Center in Irvine, Calif., as part of the consolation final.

It is believed this is the first time a UIC swimmer has qualified for the American Olympic Trials in school history.

Other notable swimmers entered into the 50-meter freestyle race were American record holder Gary Hall (22.74) and Olympian Jason Lezak (22.45).

"Blake has been chasing this goal for a long time," said UIC head swimming and diving coach Paul Moniak. "We are extremely proud that he reached it. It's a testament to his hard work and the help of our sprint coach, Ina Harizanova."

Stories provided by UIC Office of Sports Information