By Rich Chrampanis
OMAHA, Nebraska: The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials is an 8-day marathon where the nation’s best have the enormous pressure of swimming their best to achieve the dreams of being an Olympian. Fair Haven’s Connor Jaeger was able to make headlines on the first and last day of competition. The three time All-American from the University of Michigan and 2010 graduate of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School has qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics after winning the 400 meter and 1500 meter freestyle races at the trials.
On June 26, the first day of the trials, Jaeger reached the finals of the 400 meters with the fourth fastest time in the preliminaries. The top two finishers in the finals earn a spot on Team USA and a spot in Rio at the Olympic games. In the finals, Jaeger was able to roar from behind in the final to top Conor Dwyer to win the 400 in a time of 3:43.79.
“So I dive in, I feel like I’m pushing it pretty hard, and I’m still staring at Conor Dwyer’s feet the whole race. It was like having some sort of outer body experience around the 200 thinking, man am I out of this or am I going to be able to turn it around? And I basically said, like, there is no giving up in this race,” Jaeger explained in his post-match press conference. “I just went until I couldn’t feel my legs or any arms any longer, and on my last 50 I peeked over and I was ahead, which was kind of an incredible realization and, you know, just went as hard as I could and touched the wall. I couldn’t believe that I placed first. It’s really pretty — what an exciting experience! A couple of profanities came out of my mouth right after, you know, me and Dwyer, we’re good friends, so to be able to punch the ticket like that, it’s great.”
While his win in the 400 was a surprise, there was no shock to see the former RFH Bulldog close out the swim trials on July 3rd with a win in the 1500 meters. Jaeger and Jordan Wilimvosky had built a massive lead on the rest of the finalists. In the final 100, Connor was able to pull away for a 1.58 second margin of victory over Wilimvosky with a time of 14:47.61. Following his second win in the trials, the media informed him that his time was one of the top four in the world this year.
“Top four? That’s good,” Jaeger said. “What I was saying to those guys over there is those are strong times, but we’re going to have to be better in Rio, and I’m looking forward to preparing this next five weeks or month, whatever it is and getting ready for that race.”
It will be the second time Jaeger will represent Team USA in Olympic competition. In the 2012 London Games, Connor finished in 6th place in the 1500 meters. In 2016, he’ll have two chances to medal in Rio in the 400 and 1500 freestyle.
“I mean, I’m blessed. I’m just blessed that I can come to a meet like this with friends and family here to support me,” Jaeger said. “I had a great meet, and I’m really fortunate and some people didn’t, and that’s really unfortunate.
In elementary school, Jaeger was inspired to become an Olympian followed by a visit from Tom Wilkens, the Middletown native and former CBA graduate who won a bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 200 meter individual medley. Next month, all eyes of the Jersey Shore will be on Rio as Jaeger will no doubt be a contender to become an Olympic medalist of his own.
