Former Gopher Bowe Becker reached the finals of the men's 100-meter freestyle, recording a personal-best time and remaining in contention for a place on the Olympic team.
Former Gophers swimmer Bowe Becker advances in 100 free at Olympic trials
The top six finishers in the 100 free will make the U.S. team for the Tokyo Games, provided they have the Olympic qualifying time.
June 17, 2021 at 6:45AM
Becker, who finished his Gophers career in 2019, swam a time of 48.61 in the preliminaries, lowering his personal record by .24 of a second. That was the eighth-best time in the morning heats. In the semifinals, Becker nearly duplicated that performance, touching in 48.62 to tie for the sixth-fastest time and move on to Thursday's eight-man finals.
The top six men in the 100 free — provided they have the Olympic qualifying standard of 48.57 — make the Olympic team. The top two swim in the individual event, and the others are part of the relay pool.
Becker, a Las Vegas native who now swims for the Sandpipers of Nevada, won three Big Ten titles and was the NCAA silver medalist in the 100-yard freestyle in 2019. He also is entered in the 50 free at the Olympic trials after placing 12th in that event in 2016.
Gophers senior Max McHugh, who tied for seventh in the men's 100 breaststroke, did not advance out of the heats in the 200 breaststroke. McHugh's time of 2:13.97 ranked 21st.
Max Brosmer and family have seen the Rose Bowl stadium and Michigan Stadium. They rushed the field after beating USC. And Saturday they’ll experience the most-played rivalry in college football.
