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Monday, August 24, 1998

Swimming Briefs

UCLA junior Keiko Price placed fourth in the 100-meter freestyle last week at the U.S. summer nationals and subsequently qualified for international competition.

Price clocked in at 56.40 seconds, behind swimming veterans Jenny Thompson (55.53), Ashley Tappin (56.08) and Liesl Kolbisen (56.25). Price is the only current collegiate swimmer of the top five sprinters.

With her fourth-place finish, Price qualified for 1999 Pan-Pacific Championships which will be held at Sydney, Australia. She will represent the United States as a member of the 400-meter free relay team.

"My goal was to make top eight in the 100-meter free and the Pan-Pacifics so I was happy with fourth place," Price said.

The long course nationals differs from collegiate swimming competitions in that the NCAA uses 25-yard (22.75 m) pools for swim meets as opposed to the 50-meter pools. Long course is the official pool of most international competitions including the Olympics.

Aiming for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Price has been consistently training in the long course pool as well as the short course pool. Her recent accomplishment is an improvement from her last year's placing of No. 10 (56.98) in the same event.

Price is making a steady climb in international competitions. Last summer, she participated in the World University Games in Sicily, Italy, and helped Team USA win the 400 free relay. The Pan-Pacifics will be a tougher atmosphere with faster swimmers.

"This is a big meet to make," UCLA head coach Gallagher said of the Pan-Pacs. "We still have some work to do on some details but for her to be fourth at the nationals is a great step."Keiko Price

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