Former Hempfield swimmer Katie Riefenstahl finished sixth Saturday in the finals of the 200-meter backstroke at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Neb.
Katie Riefenstahl and Josef Kinderwater
Swimming in Lane 6, Riefenstahl turned in a time of 2:10.26, a half-second faster than her qualifying time of 2:10.78, but a little more than four seconds off the world-record pace set by Margaret Hoelzer (2:06.09). Hoelzer and Elizabeth Beisel (2:06.92) qualified for the Olympic team.
The 200 backstroke was Riefestahl's last chance to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She swam Tuesday in the semifinals of the 200 freestyle, finishing 13th with a time of 1:59.70, and in the finals of the 100 backstroke, placing eighth in 1:01.59.
Riefenstahl, 18, lives in Blue Bell but started her academic and swimming career at Hempfield, setting a state record in the 200 freestyle as a freshman before transferring to Germantown Academy to swim and train prior to her sophomore year.
In the fall, she will swim at the University of Texas.
Hempfield graduate Josef Kinderwater will compete today in the finals of the men's 1,500 freestyle. Kinderwater comes in seeded eighth with a time of 15:22.45, more than a half-minute off the pace set by Erik Vendt (14:50.24), a two-time Olympian and the only swimmer under 15 minutes in the preliminaries.
Kinderwater, 19, just finished his freshman year at the University of North Carolina. In the finals, he also will swim against Larsen Jensen, who holds the American record (14:45.29) and qualified fourth with a time of 15:11.99.
Today's Olympic coverage begins at 7 p.m. on NBC.
