Michael Chadwick was behind as soon as he entered the water in the 100-meter freestyle. As the rising senior dove in on June 29 at U.S. Olympic Team Trials, his arms separated. His streamline was broken, putting him a body length behind every other swimmer in his heat.
Chadwick estimated that the rough start added a second to his race. He finished the preliminary event in 49.61 seconds, just .03 off of the time it took to make semifinals.
Had he advanced past preliminaries, Chadwick feels he could have made the U.S. team.
“I think if I was put in the final … I would’ve rosen to the occasion,” he said.