Published: July 01, 2008 03:19 am            

SWIMMING: Jeff's Hesen one step away from Olympics

Former Jeff star to compete in 100 back finals at U.S. trials

Jeffersonville native Ben Hesen is one race away from making his Olympic dreams come true.

Hesen advanced to tonight’s 100-meter backstroke final at the United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., by placing third in Monday night’s semifinals. Tonight’s final will be televised on USA Network, with the race taking place between 8-9 p.m.

The former Indiana University swimmer posted a time of 53.87 seconds. He swam the first 50 meters in 25.87 seconds, which was the second-fastest among the semifinalists. Hesen qualified for the semifinals earlier in the day after posting the third-fastest time in the preliminaries in 53.88 seconds.

For Hesen to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Beijing tonight, he must finish in the top two in the final, where he is seeded seventh.

That will be a challenge against a field that includes current world record holder Aaron Piersol and Hesen’s former Big Ten Conference rival Matt Grevers, who attended Northwestern.

Hesen will try to make the Olympics in two more events later this week. He will compete in the 200 backstroke and the 100 butterfly.

This past season as a senior at IU, Hesen won his first-ever national title by winning the 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Wash. His winning time of 44.72 seconds broke a school record, and it was the second-fastest time in NCAA history.

Hesen was also named the 2008 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and won the Swimmer of the Championship award at this year’s conference championships.

During his career at Jeffersonville High School, Hesen won four individual state championships, including three 100-yard backstroke titles.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.