BATON ROUGE — Former LSU swimmer Stephanie Smith qualified for the 2004 United States Olympic Team Trials in the 400-meter freestyle on Saturday at the LSU Natatorium.
Smith, a native of Metairie, La., swam a qualifying time of 4:18.49. The women’s 400-meter qualifying standard is 4:19.39.
Smith was one of the most prolific distance freestyle swimmers in school history. A three-time letterwinner from 2001-04, Smith currently holds three school records, all of which were shattered her junior season in 2002-03. She broke her own school records in the 1000-yard (9:50.51) and 1650-yard (16:21.41) freestyle events at the 2002 Nike Cup Invitational. She also holds the school record in the 500 free (4:47.75), a mark also set at the Nike Cup.
Smith earned 2002 All-American honors in the 1650 free, swimming a time of 16:25.47 at the NCAA Championships. She concluded her career with her third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance this past spring.
Smith will attempt to become the 13th U.S. Olympian in school history when she competes at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, held July 7-14 in Long Beach, Calif. The preliminaries of the women’s 400-meter freestyle will take place on July 8, beginning at 9 a.m.