In only 23.46 seconds, senior Marshall Seedorff earned the biggest opportunity of his life.
By swimming the 50-meter freestyle in under 25 seconds at the Olympic Time Trials qualification round in March, Mr. Seedorff earned a spot at the 2012 Olympic Time Trials, to be held June 25 to July 2, in Omaha, Neb.
Mr. Seedorff now has a chance to make the U.S. Men’s Swimming Team and to represent the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. There are approximately 100 people who qualified for the freestyle trials, and only the top two finishers will make the U.S. Olympic Team.
“As a swimmer, there is no real professional league other than the Olympics, so making it to the trials stage is something that every American swimmer dreams of and works for,” said Mr. Seedorff. “For me, making trials is a dream come true.”
Mr. Seedorff said he is preparing for the time trials the same way he approaches every race: by monitoring his diet, training intensely and maintaining a “high level of focus.”
“The 50 free is an all-out sprint event,” he said. “The training I am doing is very concentrated on strength development and top speed.”
“I am a sprinter by nature,” he added. “It best fits my competitive personality and the build I have as an athlete.”
Qualifying for the Olympic Time Trials caps a successful four seasons of swimming for Mr. Seedorff. As a Colonial, he consistently netted strong performances in individual freestyle and freestyle medleys, including a season best this year in the 400-yard freestyle relay. GW men’s swimming finished sixth at this year’s Atlantic 10 Championships.
Interestingly, swimming wasn’t Mr. Seedorff’s first choice of sport. In fourth grade, he tore the medial collateral ligament in his knee and was told that swimming could be his only athletic outlet for the next year. Although he eventually quit swimming in sixth grade, Mr. Seedorff, a native of Marietta, Ga., later joined his high school swim team and qualified for the Georgia State Finals his junior and senior year.
After graduation this May, Mr. Seedorff will enroll in George Washington’s Sports Management Program and use his last year of eligibility on the GW baseball team, of which he is also a member. Mr. Seedorff has played baseball since he was 4 years old, so he said he is excited to try and compete as a pitcher next season.
“My experience at GW has been nothing short of spectacular,” he said. “Being part of the team and the community here at GW has opened a lot of doors for my future. Regardless of what I do after leaving GW for good, I will always be a proud Colonial!”