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Below are current Olympic hopefuls with Fordham ties:
Women's Swimming
Current Forrdham swimmer Brienne Ryan (FC '13) has her sights set on the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, June 25th - July 2nd in Omaha, Nebraska, as she has qualified in both the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events.
She qualified for the trials last summer in the 100-meter backstroke, but recently competed at the 2012 Charlotte Ultra Swim on May 12-13, improving her qualifying time in the 100-meter, as well as qualifying for the 200-meter backstroke event.
Ryan's run in Charlotte was eventful, as on May 12th, she went up against some of the best backstrokers in the country, which included U.S. Olympian and American record holder in the 100-meter backstroke, Natalie Coughlin. Ryan showed she belonged with the elite swimmers, posting a time of 1:02.14 to qualify fourth for the 100 backstroke final later in the night.
In the final (above video), Ryan (in lane 6) remained fourth, cutting half a second off her time at 1:01.54. Elizabeth Pelton and Rachel Bootsma tied for first in the event at identical times of 1:00.25, while Coughlin was third in 1:00.83.
The following day, Ryan was right back to work in the 200-meter backstroke, as she qualified for the Olympic trials in that event in 2:16.98, which put her in the "B" final of the Grand Prix. In that final, Ryan bettered her time to 2:16.07, which was fourth in the "B" final, and good for 12th overall.
As of May 15th, Ryan currently boasts the 5th-best time in the United States for 2012 in the 100-meter backstroke, and ranks 15th for the Olympic Trials and 51st in the world. Her 200-meter backstroke time places her 42nd in the United States and 75th for the Olympic Trials. (Note: Olympic Trial times include all times since October 2009). (Article featuring Ryan's chances at the Olympic Trials - SwimSwam.com)
Melissa Salerno Kerri Gallagher
Fordham track & field alumni Melissa Salerno (FC '08, GSE '10) and Kerri Gallagher (FC '11) have both qualified for the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, June 21st - July 1st in Eugene, Oregon, in the 1,500 meter run.
Salerno posted an "A" qualifying time of 4:12.82 on April 29th in a meet hosted by Stanford University, which is an automatic qualifier. She is currently sponsored by New Balance. (Article on Salerno in the MillerPlace-Rocky Point Patch)
Running at the Swarthmore College Last Chance Meet on May 14th, Gallagher registered a "B" qualifying time in the 1,500 meters, as she placed fourth in 4:16.07. Gallagher is set to run three more times prior to the trials in order to improve her standing to an "A" qualifier. (Article on Gallagher in the New York Daily News)
Men's Basketball
Current Fordham men's basketball player Chris Gaston (PCS '13) has been invited to try out for the Puerto Rican National Team and will be off to the island, following finals.
Chris Gaston
Gaston also registered 16 doubles-doubles on the year, the most for any Atlantic 10 player and the 18th best in the NCAA Division I. He was also 24th in the NCAA in rebounding, 72nd in scoring and 80th in blocks.
(Articles on Gaston from NYPost.com - Fordham's Gaston gets Olympic invite from native Puerto Rico | St. Anthony basketball stars reunite for Olympic dream)
Erin Rooney
Erin Rooney and her fellow New Zealanders will have an opportunity to earn a spot in the 2012 Games as the Tall Ferns head to Turkey to compete in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The team, representing the Oceania division, is one of 12 sides battling for the final five Olympic spots. Competition begins on June 25 and runs through July 1 with play divided up into four groups of three teams with the top two in each group progressing to the quarterfinals. New Zealand has been grouped with the Czech Republic and Argentina.
The four quarterfinal winners will advance to the 2012 London Games as will the winner of a two-game playoff among the four quarterfinal losers. In 2008, Belarus, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Spain and Latvia took the five spots in Athens.Tall Ferns Press Kit
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