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Aug. 13, 2000
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – University of Virginia rising third-year Ed Moses (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) finished fourth in the finals of the 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials Sunday evening (August 13) at Indiana University Natatorium. Just 32 hundredths of a second separated the top four finishers with Moses posting a time of 2:13.53. UVa graduate Melanie Valerio (’91) placed ninth in the semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle and missed qualifying for the finals by just six hundredths of a second.
Moses entered the 200-meter breaststroke final with the top time of 2:13.13. Kyle Salyards, who had the top time in the preliminaries, won the 200 breast with a time of 2:13.21, which was eight hundredths of a second slower than Moses’ semifinal time. Tom Wilkens was second in the finals at 2:13.34, while Brendan Hansen was third at 2:13.49. Moses was fourth in 2:13.53.
Moses led through the first 100 meters of the race. His split in the first 50 was 29.82 and he also led after 100 meters with a time of 1:03.70. Moses dropped to second place after 150 meters with Wilkens taking the lead by two tenths of a second.
Earlier in the Olympic Trials, Moses made the U.S. Olympic Team by winning the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:00.44. Moses’ time in the 100 breast is the second fastest ever and was just eight hundredths of a second off the world record.
Valerio, a gold medalist at the 1996 Olympics as a member of the 400-meter freestyle relay team, turned in a time of 56.02 in the 100 freestyle, good for ninth place. Erin Phenix qualified eighth for the finals with a time of 55.96, just six hundredths of a second ahead of Valerio. In the prelims, Valerio touched in 56.42.