Swimmer Mark Randall Qualifies for 2010 Commonwealth Games
5/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
May 7, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama senior Mark Randall picked up a gold and silver medal at the recent South African National Championships and Commonwealth Games Trials held in Durban, South Africa.
In addition to his medal-winning ways, Randall also punched his ticket for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in New Delhi, India, in October.
"We're obviously very proud of Mark and all he's accomplished during his Alabama career," UA head coach Eric McIlquham said. "This is a great opportunity for him to represent his country again and I'm excited for him."
Randall also represented South Africa at the 2006 Commonwealth Games when he took fourth in the 1500m race and sixth in the 400m.
"I'm just really excited to have the opportunity," Randall said. "It's always a great honor to represent your country. It's really the highest level you can aspire to. I'm really thankful and looking forward to the opportunity."
A four-time All-American, Randall posted a time of 3:49.97 in the 400-meter freestyle to take the gold medal by more than a second. His time puts him seventh in the world this year and was just one hundredth of a second off the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard. It marked the East London native's fourth national title in the 400m.
"It was kind of bittersweet," Randall said. "I just missed the qualifying time by like one hundredth of a second, but at the same time it was a best time and I won the race. I was able to come back in the 1500 and make the qualifying time, so overall I was really happy with how I did."
Randall took the silver medal in the 1500m freestyle later in the championships, touching the wall at 15:09.75, earning his way onto the SA Commonwealth Games team in the process. Randall's time makes him fifth fastest in the world this year.
The Crimson Tide record holder in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyles, Randall was a four-year finalist in the distance events at the SEC Championships and a three-year scorer at the NCAA Championships. Slated to earn his undergraduate degree in August and begin work on a Master's degree at Alabama in the fall, Randall closed out his UA athletic career by earning the Tide's Mike Curington Most Valuable and Marshall Shoemaker Most Dedicated awards.
Players Mentioned
