Hunter Armstrong 2nd in 100 Back at U.S. Olympic Trials
6/15/2021 10:19:04 PM | Men's Swim & Dive
Photo Credit: Jack Spitser/Spitser Photography
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The awesome 2021 year for Ohio State sophomore swimmer Hunter Armstrong has turned into a great year for the sport industry major from Dover, Ohio. Tuesday evening at the CHI Health Center, in Omaha, Neb., Armstrong finished second in the 100 backstroke at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials and, although it won’t be official until the team is announced on June 19, he is expected to be named to the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team that will compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
Armstrong, who was second in the semifinals on Monday with a long course meters career-best time of 52.67, lowered that standard with a time of 52.48 Tuesday to finish second to 2016 Olympic 100 and 200 backstroke gold medalist Ryan Murphy, who won the race in 52.33. Shaine Casas was third (52.76) and Bryce Mefford was fourth (52.92).
“We are all just incredibly proud and happy for Hunter,” Bill Dorenkott, Ohio State director of swimming and diving said. “Hunter is a proud Ohioan who has just continued to get better and better. Ohio State has a rich history of U.S. Olympians and medal winners, but it’s been a while since we had one so this is a wonderful moment for Hunter, his hometown of Dover and for the Ohio State program.”
Armstrong will be the first Buckeye to make the U.S. Olympic swimming team since 1956 and he’ll follow in the wake of Ohio State’s most recent swimming Olympians: George Markovic (competed for Serbia in the 2012 Olympics) and Dustin Tynes (2016 Olympics for the Bahamas).
Armstrong was a force for Ohio State at the 2021 Big Ten championships, where the team finished third, and the 2021 NCAA championships, when Ohio State finished seventh for its best back-to-back NCAA finishes in 58 years (Ohio State was ninth in 2019). He scored in seven events at Big Tens and then earned four All-America honors at the NCAA championships, including in the 100 backstroke.
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