Goettler among the best
RICHMOND, Va. — Butler junior swimmer Laura Goettler qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials Friday night during the USA Swimming's TYR Pro Series Championships in Richmond, Va.
Goettler placed seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke at the event, swimming a time of 2 minutes, 32.85 seconds.
“My goal was to do this,” Goettler said of qualifying. “But I wasn't sure I could make it happen.”
The Olympic Trials are in late June of next year in Omaha, Neb.
“This is quite an accomplishment,” Butler High School swim coach David Bocci said. “Not all of the top breaststrokers were at this meet, but a lot of them were.
“Laura was swimming against some members of the USA national team in her event.”
Goettler is coming off a PIAA state championship in the 100 breaststroke at Bucknell University last month. She recently began training for the long course season.
“That's radically different from high school,” Bocci said of long course. “You compete in a 50-meter pool, twice the size of our high school pool.
“This meet in Virginia came at a good time for Laura. She was ready for this.”
Goettler competed against some of the country's best swimmers at the Long Course Nationals in California last summer.
“That experience definitely helped me this time. A lot of the same swimmers were here,” Goettler said. “This was the first time I didn't psyche myself out swimming at this level.
“I didn't know I qualified (for Olympic Trials) until I got out of the pool and saw my time.”
Bocci said Goettler will continue to train in the high school pool before moving outdoors to the Alameda Park pool in June and July.
Her next big event will be Senior Nationals toward the end of July.
“It's a big deal just to get into the 'A' final at this Pro Series event,” Bocci said. “Laura keeps proving she belongs among the best.”
Being recruited by Division I collegiate programs, Goettler remains undecided about her college plans.
She becomes the first Butler swimmer to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials since Camryn Forbes in 2016.
“It's pretty exciting,” Goettler said. “I've got a couple of meets this summer to get ready for Long Course Nationals out in California again. That's the next goal.”
