July 14, 2016
Olympic swimming begins on Aug. 6 at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium at Barra Olympic Park in Rio, Brazil. With just over three weeks left until the games start (Aug. 5), here is a look at the 10 Auburn swimmers and five coaches that will be representing Auburn at the Olympics.
Fred Bousquet (France/Auburn 2003-05)
Fred Bousquet will compete in the 50 free in what will be his fourth Olympics for France. He earned a silver medal on the 4x100 freestyle relay at the Beijing games in 2008. He earned 21 All-America honors during his Auburn career and was the first man in NCAA history to go under 19 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle.
George Bovell (Trinidad & Tobago/Auburn 2003-06)
George Bovell will compete in the 50 free in what will be his fifth consecutive Olympics for Trinidad & Tobago. A bronze medalist in the 200 IM in the 2004 games in Athens, he earned 25 All-America honors during his Auburn career, which stands as the school record.
Marcelo Chierighini (Brazil/Auburn 2010-14)
Marcelo Chierighini will compete in the 100 free and the 4x100 free relay for Brazil. He is making his second consecutive Olympic appearance after competing in London in 2012 on the 4x100 free and 4x100 medley relay teams.
Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe/Auburn 2002-05)
Kirsty Coventry will compete in the 100 and 200 backstrokes for Zimbabwe. The most decorated Olympian in Auburn swimming history, she is making her fifth consecutive appearance at the Olympics. During her international swimming career she has won seven Olympic medals, picking up a complete set in Athens in 2004 (gold – 200 back, silver – 100 back, bronze – 200 IM) and then returning in 2008 and earning a gold (200 back) and three silvers (100 back, 200 IM, 400 IM).
Lauren Hancock (Guatemala/Auburn Associate Women’s Head Coach)
Lauren Hancock, who just finished her first season at Auburn, will be a part of the Guatemala contingent as she coaches current Auburn swimmer Luis Martinez, one of two Guatemalan’s to qualify for Olympic swimming. This will be her first appearance at the Olympics.
Brett Hawke (Brazil/Auburn Head Coach)
Auburn’s head coach since 2009, Brett Hawke is making his third coaching trip to the Olympics and his fifth trip overall. He is making his second trip to the games as an assistant coach for Brazil, which he also did in 2008 in Beijing. Part of his coaching responsibilities will be to guide former Auburn sprint freestyle specialist Marcelo Chierighini as well as Bruno Fratus, who also trains at Auburn. Hawke, who is from Australia, competed in the 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens) Olympics and was the Bahamas head coach in 2012 (London).
Peter Holoda (Hungary/Auburn 2014-present)
Peter Holoda will swim on Hungary’s 4x100 free relay team. A sophomore last year, Holoda had a breakout year for Auburn in 2015-16, finishing second in the 50 free and third in the 100 free at the SEC Championships. He also anchored the 400 free relay team to the top of the medal stand at the league championships. At the NCAA Championships he finished 13th in the 50 free and 20th in the 100 free. He is making his first appearance at an Olympic games.
Stephanie Horner (Canada/Auburn 2008-10)
Stephanie Horner will swim in the Open Water 10K for Canada. She will be competing in her third Olympics, making her debut in Beijing in 2008 and returning in London 2012. This will be her first time competing in an Open Water event as her first two appearances were in the 400 IM (2012), 400 free (2008), 200 free (2008) and 200 fly (2008).
Ziv Kalontarov (Israel/Auburn 2016-present)
Ziv Kalontarov will swim the 50 free for Israel. A mid-year enrollee this past season, Kalontarov won gold in the European Games in Baku last year in a time of 22.16 for the 50 free. He is making his first appearance at an Olympic games.
Sergio Lopez Miro (Singapore/Auburn Associate Head Coach)
Sergio Lopez, who was named Associate Head Coach for Auburn Swimming and Diving in April, will serve as the head coach for Singapore in Rio. The Singapore Swimming Association head coach, he was an Olympic bronze medalist with Spain in 1988 (Seoul) and also on the 1992 (Barcelona) Olympic team.
David Marsh (United States Women’s Head Coach/Auburn 1978-81)
A three-time assistant coach for the United States, Auburn alum and former head coach David Marsh is the head coach for the USA women’s swimming team in Rio. Marsh was previously on the USA staffs in 1996, 2000 and 2012.
Luis Carlos Martinez (Guatemala/Auburn 2015-present)
Luis Carlos Martinez will swim the 100 butterfly for Guatemala. A sophomore last season, he earned his Olympic Qualifying Time in December at the AT&T Winter Nationals in Federal Way, Wash., when he placed third in a time of 52.35 behind Michael Phelps and Tom Shields. Swimming the 100 fly at the SEC Championships, he placed eighth. He then was 30th in the event at the NCAA Championships. He is making his first appearance at an Olympic games.
Julie Meynen (Luxembourg/incoming freshman)
Julie Meynen will compete in the 50 and 100 freestyles for Luxembourg in her first Olympic appearance. An incoming freshman this upcoming season, she was a bronze medalist in the 100 free at the 2013 Junior European Championships and has twice competed in the World Championships (2013 & 2015).
Ozzie Quevedo (Suriname/Auburn Assistant Coach)
Ozzie Quevedo will be part of the Suriname coaching contingent in his first Olympic coaching appearance. An Olympian for Venezuela in 2000 (Sydney), he will coach Renzo Tjon a Joe, who trains at Auburn, a sprint freestyle and butterfly specialist.
Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace (Bahamas/Auburn 2009-12)
Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace will swim both the 50 and 100 freestyle for the Bahamas. This will be her third consecutive Olympics after debuting in 2008 in Beijing. Still the program record holder in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, she was the first swimmer from the Bahamas to reach on Olympic final when she made the 50 free finals in London in 2012.