Modesto's Karlee Bispo off to Olympic Swim Trials
Karlee Bispo swam for the team during her four years at the University of Texas, winning her freestyle races while swimming other events to collect points for the Longhorns.
The former Downey High star will swim for herself and her country next week, however, during the 2012 Olympic Team Trials in Omaha.“I want to get out of the pool knowing that I swam the best race I could, and I hope that’s enough to get me a spot,” said Bispo, who will swim the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle. “There are always swimmers who surprise at these trials.”
Bispo swam in the trials in 2008, before enrolling at Texas and after being named The Bee’s Swimmer of the Year for the fourth year in a row. She failed to make a final, but she became a top name in the pool in four years at Texas.
A college star with seven all-American honors as a senior and 18 in her career, Bispo enters the trials with a solid reputation — but not a favorite.Her priority is a spot on the team that goes to England in July, where the world’s best swimmers will be in the pool.
“I’ve swam since the end of the college season with these races in mind,” said Bispo, who set three school records at the NCAA championships in March. “It comes down to fine tuning my races, because one stroke, one mistake ... it means you go or stay home.”
Bispo is one of three Stanislaus District swimmers going to Omaha: The meet starts Monday and it will be used to fill the 26 slots on the men’s and women’s Olympic teams:
Bispo will swim her trials Wednesday (200), Friday (100) and Sunday (50), with the top finishers going to the finals.
Atwater High grad Adam Rice swims June 29 (200 individual medley) and June 30 (100 fly), but he is the No.
The trials mix the country’s premier swimmers with college and age-group athletes — and there are no guarantees.
“There are elite swimmers in every race, but swimming is a sport where on any given day ...” Bispo noted. “You can win one day, and the next day you finish second or third.”
She’s seeded 14th in the 200 and 25th in the 100, with the top six making the team. She is 18th in the 50, but only the top two qualify in that race.
The heavy lifting was completed a few weeks ago, Bispo noted: A trip to England hinges on hundredths of a second.
“This isn’t the time to work on new ideas,” she said. “I’m focused on my start, my turns and making sure my stroke is consistent. I’ve made some major changes to my stroke.”
Working with Texas men’s coach Eddie Reese, the three-time U.S. Olympic coach, Bispo overhauled her technique in hopes of shaving valuable time off her freestyle races.
“I played around with other events at Texas, I had success in the 200 IM, but the last few months have been about freestyle,” Bispo said. “My trip to the trials in 2008, I was inexperienced. I’ve got four years of knowledge now and I’m learning from the world’s best.”
Bispo, a two-time academic all-American, earned her degree in exercise science in December. She met her pre-med requirements, too, and plans to weigh swimming vs. medical school after the trials.
The World Championships are next summer in Barcelona, Spain, and Bispo says that could delay a medical career.
“An opportunity to swim at the Olympic or a world championship, swimming for your country ... I think that’s what we all want,” Bispo said. “It’s what we talk about as kids at swim meets. Now it’s here.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2012 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Modesto's Karlee Bispo off to Olympic Swim Trials."