A local swimmer competed in one of the biggest meets of her life as she made it to the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., earlier this month.
“It was pretty awesome,” said Rachel Fulton, a recent Lakeside High School graduate who will study biology at Georgia Tech in the fall.
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The thought of attempting to qualify for the trials was a crazy idea to Fulton a few months ago, but Greg Gillette, her coach with the Aiken-Augusta Swim League, had confidence in her.
“She’s a really great kid,” said Gillette. “She’s a sprinter, and she’s happy to work her tail off.”
Fulton, whose father and grandfather were both swimmers, said she has a “love-hate” relationship with the sport, and prior to Gillette joining the swim league a few years ago, she hated it more than she loved it. She was caught in a vicious circle. She got frustrated with her times which caused her to want to train less which caused her times to get worse.
But Gillette made the work fun for the members of the team, adding games into the training, she said.
When Gillette first suggested she try to qualify for the Olympic Trials, she thought it was an insurmountable task.
“I had to drop a half second. That’s a lot for a 50-meter race,” she said.
On her first attempt in March, she missed qualifying by a heartbreaking .01 seconds, she said.
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She tried it twice in March, but she kept the goal in front of her. In May, she traveled to Orlando, Fla., and she tried it several more times, finally making the cutoff.
The trials were held June 4-7. She got there a couple of days early to train and race in preparation.
Fulton said the arena where they trials were held was massive, and the pool was bigger than any she’d ever seen.
Gillette said she finished 60th or 70th, but it wasn’t about winning.
“She was racing against some of the fastest kids in the world,” said Gillette, who was pleased with her results.
Fulton will swim with Georgia Tech next year, and at the event, she met other members of collegiate swim teams.
Not only is Fulton a great athlete, Gillette said she’s a role model for the younger swimmers on the area swim league.
“She’s a good kid. She has a really great sense of humor. She knows how to lighten the mood when things get tense,” he said.
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Fulton had wanted to help coach, but Gillette saw her potential and knew she needed to train instead of teach.
“I needed her to focus,” he said.
Gillette feels her appearance at the trials will help her in her collegiate career.
“She’s going to do great things,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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