Alabama Swimmers to Compete in 2004 Olympics
6/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Alabama senior swimmer Brendan Ashby may have finished his collegiate career at the Southeastern Conference Championships this past February, but he recently learned that his international career will carry on through this summer.
Ashby was recently named to the Zimbabwe Olympic team. He will compete in the 100 and 200 backstrokes at the Athens Olympiad. The Gweru, Zimbabwe native posted a career best time of 49.44 in the 100 backstroke, which ranks him fifth all-time for the Tide. He competed at the 2003 and 2001 World Championships and holds several Zimbabwe national records.
Ashby joins two other Tide swimmers who have already made the teams for their respective countries. Two-time NCAA 200 butterfly champion Stefan Gherghel will represent Romania. Sophomore Vlad Polyakov, who took the 2003-04 collegiate season off to train for the Olympics, will swim for Kazakhstan. Polyakov finished second in the 200 breaststroke at the 2003 NCAA Championships as a rookie.
Several other past and present members of the Alabama swimming and diving program will try out for their Olympic teams over the next two months, including 2004 NCAA Three-meter Diving Champion Lane Bassham, who will participate in the U.S. Olympic Trials in mid-June.
