Bailey Grinter again astounds with Olympic Trials cut time in Edwardsville meet
EDWARDSVILLE - Bailey Grinter continues to dazzle in the swimming pool, qualifying on Friday night for her second berth in the Olympic Trials set for next summer in Omaha, Neb.
This time, Grinter qualified in the 50-meter freestyle, another one of her best events, with a time of 26.05, cracking the Trials mark of 26.19.
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Grinter had already qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 100-meter backstroke in the U.S. Swimming Speedo Regional VIII Summer Sectionals with a time of 1:03.36 in the backstroke.
Bailey said she believed a key to her getting the Olympic Trials cut Friday night was limiting herself to one breath the entire way up and back in the pool.
“I was nervous in the starting blocks before the race, I knew I was getting down to a point where I had to get the cut,” she said. “I just breathed once and sprinted. I touched and there is always a moment of silence right after you touch. Then everyone broke out and cheered when the official time appeared on the board of 26.05.”
Grinter is the first female from Edwardsville to ever qualify for the Olympic Trials. The only other male swimmer was Billy Stapleton in 1988. Stapleton later competed in the Seoul Olympics.
Grinter has five state medals, with her top place a third in the 50-yard free in a time of 22.95 this past year. She was fourth in the 100-yard backstroke at state with a time of 55.93.
The Edwardsville swimming sensation said to get an Olympic Trials time in the 50-meter free, it has to be almost a perfect swim.
The incredible thing is Grinter is only 16 years old, so the future in front of her looks exceptionally bright. She is being recruited by nearly every major university in America for swimming.
“I still have a long time left to make a final decision on college,” the EHS junior said.
Grinter wants to excel at the Trials next summer and said she will have to break 25 seconds in the 50-meter free and get around 1-minute flat in the 100-meter backstroke, so she knows she will have to work hard, which is nothing new to her. If she finished with those types of times, it would put her at the upper part of the Olympic Trials echelon in her events.
The Edwardsville girl again thanked her mom, April, and dad, Greg, for their constant support and encouragement of her in the water, school and life in general.
“My family are all always there for me at the meets when it counts,” she said.
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