Sophomore swimmer Sarah Paisley Owen recently competed in the 2024 Olympic Trials, adding to her list of accomplishments. She competed in the preliminaries, which is the first round, and placed second in her heat and 38th overall.

Owen said this experience is something not many people get to participate in, especially at her age.

“It’s a very big thing, not many people even make the time standards, and to do it at such a young age is a pretty big deal,” Owen said.

Owen qualified for the Olympic Trials after completing a 50-meter freestyle with a time of 25.61 at the 2023 Speedo Junior National Championship.

“Things like that [qualifying for the Olympic trials] will always be somewhat a surprise or excitement, because even though I’ve been thinking of this for a while and visualized myself in this position for a while, actually seeing it happen is just so exciting and surreal,” Owen said.

Owen said she has been thinking about being an Olympian since she was young, but just recently has she seen herself in the position to actually compete at the Olympic Trials.

“You could say I’ve been working towards it ever since I started swimming, but I mean it’s maybe been a big thing this past few years,” Owen said.

At the Olympic trials, Owen swam the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 25.63. She was one of 77 swimmers in her race and placed 38th.

“She was right at her best time in her race which is impressive because over 70% of competitors swam slower than their entry times, and the percentage is even lower for first time participants,” Owen’s dad Chuck Owen said.

The 2024 Olympic Trial qualifying time was lowered, making it harder than ever to qualify. In 2020, the standard for the 50-meter freestyle was 25.99 but this year the standard was 25.69.

“Only 1,007 swimmers qualified for Olympic Trials,” Owen’s club head coach Justin Yuan said. “In comparison, the entire USA Swimming program has 316,623 swimmers. This puts Sarah Paisley in the top 0.003 percent of swimmers [men and women] in the United States.”

Owen said she aspires to be like women in the sport who have shown qualities like persistence that she can learn from.

“Simone Manuel is a big role model for me,” Owen said. “She really demonstrates perseverance and not giving up, as she struggles with her own challenges and has overcome them and is just an amazing person in the sport.”

Alongside Manuel, Torri Huske is also someone Owen looks up to because she shows dedication and determination.

“At the last Olympics, Torri just missed out on a medal in the 100m butterfly, she was fourth. But she didn’t let that discourage her and she kept working hard and won gold at the Olympics. I think that’s such an inspiring story and it really inspires me to keep working hard towards my goals,” Owen said.

These swimmers have turned from idols to Owen’s competition in just a matter of a few years. Huske and Manuel competed alongside Owen in the 50-meter freestyle.

“All these other athletes who are people you’ve been looking up to, following as a kid and now you’re racing them, trying to beat them so I think that adds extra pressure,” Chuck Owen said.

Although the Olympic Trials may seem intimidating for someone of Owen’s age, Chris Thames, one of Owen’s coaches, believes they will help prepare her for other meets, big or small.

“She can now compete at other events with greater ease because the atmosphere of trials makes all other meets seem boring and easy,” Thames said.

Yuan said the Olympic Trials open many doorways for her next goals and other high level competitions and teams, such as the Junior World National Team. He believes that Owen is headed in that direction, and has not yet reached her full potential.

“My goal is for Sarah Paisley to be the best swimmer and person she can be,” Yuan said. “Her qualifications for Olympic Trials, Junior Nationals and TYR Pro Series speaks to her dedication and work ethic towards this sport.”

This story was originally published on The Southerner on September 3, 2024.