BATON ROUGE, La.- LSU swimmer Amanda Kendall earned her fourth gold medal in as many tries for Team USA at the Pan American Games on Friday in the 4x 100 meter medley relay.
Kendall swam the final freestyle leg of the Pan Am Games record relay (4:01.00) that was led off of Rachel Bootsma, Catherine Chandler and Claire Donahue. Kendall was a part of three Pan Am Games record relay teams over the course of the week.
“This was a great way for Amanda to finish out her first international meet,” Swimming Coach Dave Geyer said. “For her final swim, to throw down a split of 53.92 is amazing. That’s the type of swimmer she is though. She had her individual swim behind her and I am sure she was very relaxed for the relay tonight.”
The Fairfax, Va., native has emerged on the international scene and has positioned herself to swim a top-six time in the 100 free at Olympic Trials hosted in Omaha, Neb. June 25 to July 2. A top-six swim would qualify her for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. After posting the seventh fastest time (54.75) in the USA for the 2011 cycle on Wednesday, Kendall’s chances of qualifying for the Olympics greatly increased.
“We know she has gained a lot of experience from this meet and we cannot wait to bring her back to the Tiger family,” Geyer said. “I know as a program we are excited to have her home soon so this team can move forward with it’s goals now.”
Kendall will return to LSU on Monday and will compete again for LSU as the both the men’s and women’s squads host Alabama on Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. (CT) in the LSU Natatorium.
For more information on Kendall’s performances at the Pan American Games, please visit USAswimming.org. For updates on the LSU Swimming and Diving program please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ LSU Swimming and Diving on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @LSUswimdive.