Olympic Trial Results for Local Swimmer

Kyra Sarazen, a 15-year-old swimmer from North Hampton, finished 90th out of 186 swimmers in the 200-meter backstroke preliminary round at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday, according to official results information released after the event.

The Exeter Swim Team member and sophomore at St. Thomas Aquinas in Dover swam a 2:18.14 in her first trip to the trials. The time is slightly slower than her personal best time of 2:17.76, which she swam for the trials.

Sarazen has told Patch she didn't expect to place in the top 16 to advance past the preliminary round because of her smaller-than-average 5-foot, 2-inch frame, although she recently told Patch just making the U.S. Olympic Trials was one of her personal goals.

Sarazen also said she was "so grateful" for the support of her parents, teammates and community, and said she looks forward to continuing to make "North Hampton and friends and family proud with everything" she does.

"The experience and just being able to go and prepare for meets like this will only help me in the future," said Sarazen recently, adding that she'll continue to pursue her Olympic dreams. "It's always something in any athlete's mind to reach the highest point of their sport. I think it's really become an actual goal of mine. If I keep improving at the rate I am now, I'm not completely out of the picture [for future Olympics]."

Missy Franklin, a 17 year old from Colorado, won the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:06.12 to qualify for the London Olympic Games.

Sarazen's teammate, 15-year-old Izzy Reis of Hampton Falls, also participated in the trials this year. Reis, a Berwick Academy student, placed 141st out of 161 swimmers in the women's 100-meter butterfly event with a time of 1:01.98, according to Seacoast Online.