Riley Francis is going to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
A Carroll High School sophomore and member of the Girls Swimming and Diving team, Riley qualified for the Team Trials after she competed in the 2019 Speedo Summer Junior National Championships last month. She swam against more than 100 other competitors at the Standford Aquatic Center in Palo Alto and prevailed against most of them, placing in the top three for both the 100 Free and 200 Free.
Her mother Molly says Riley has been swimming ever since she was 5 years old and has always held a true passion for the sport.
"She gets herself up early every morning for practice, most days training twice a day, always challenging herself to keep getting better,” Molly says. “She loves to swim and is incredibly self-motivated.”
Molly says it has always been a long term goal of Riley’s to qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, NE. To qualify for the trials, Riley had to beat a time of 56.29 seconds in the 100 Free and 2:01.69 seconds in the 200 Free at the Junior National Championships.
“Timing is everything,” Molly says. “100ths in tenths of a second mean a lot.”
Not only did Riley beat more than 100 kids and placed second and third in both of her competitions but also she outdid her time in both categories with 56.09 seconds and 2:00.75 seconds respectively.
When Riley spun around and saw her time, she knew she was going to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
“She was super excited,” Molly expresses. "But she's also very humble. She loves to compete and really enjoyed celebrating with her team and coaches."
Besides qualifying for the Olympic Team Trials, Riley also found out last week that she qualified for the USA Swimming’s National Select Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Riley will be attending the National Select Camp in October, while she will swim at the Olympic Team Trials in June.