Huske Off To Flying Start In First Olympic Swimming Bid

The most nerve-wracking part of Torri Huske's scintillating 100m butterfly win at the US Olympic swimming trials turned out to be the medal ceremony

Omaha, United States, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jun, 2021 ) :The most nerve-wracking part of Torri Huske's scintillating 100m butterfly win at the US Olympic swimming trials turned out to be the medal ceremony.

Unfazed by the hoopla of the trials -- and the pressure that comes with a rigorous selection procedure that sends only the top two finishers to the Games -- Huske clocked the fifth-fastest time in history, 55.66sec, to book her first career Olympic berth.

"I thought maybe I would go 55," the poised 18-year-old said. "But I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure with the new environment.

"But I usually like the energy of the crowd and the arena, you can feel it. I feel like I usually swim better when there is a lot of energy. I feel like the more pressure there is, I feel like the better I do. Which is kind of weird." It's a good quality to have, noted men's 100m breaststroke winner Michael Andrew, and it will stand her in good stead as she goes on to tackle the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyles and the 200m individual medley.

Huske, who would have been at her high school graduation in Arlington, Virginia, if she wasn't swimming at trials, beamed from the pool as she spotted her time.

But she looked a little nonplussed as she accepted her medal and was declared an Olympian amid an array of laser lights, chants and drumming.

"The medal ceremony was a little bit overwhelming for me, but it was still really fun," she said.

Huske crushed the American record set by Olympic gold medallist Dana Vollmer at the 2012 London Games, and she was kind of shocked to be told that five-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky had predicted her time.

"A lot of people have been saying 'good job' to me who are, like, really famous swimmers," she said. "I'm kind of, like, I didn't know you knew who I am."Asked if she thought other swimmers might find it intimidating to share a warm up lane with her now, she doubted it.

"That's really weird to think about because I feel like I'm not super scary."