USC swimmer Emma Barksdale sets sights on Olympic trials

University of South Carolina swimmer Emma Barksdale competed in the NCAA tournament in April, but her impressive freshman season isn’t over yet because she’s headed to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Barksdale, from Davis, Calif., will be participating in the 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley and 200-meter breast stroke events at the Olympic trials June 26 in Omaha, Neb.

She actually qualified for her favorite event, the 400 IM, as a high school senior at the 2015 National Club Swimming Association Spring Championships.

“For my 400 IM, I got the cut (time standard) before,” Barksdale said. “I never had to swim the race again trying to get it, so I think all of my cuts that I’ve gotten in the 400 IM, 200 IM and 200 breast have kind of been special in each way. (For) the 200 IM, I definitely didn’t expect to get it at the meet I was at. I think I was wearing somebody else’s suit, like I went out just to have fun and I ended up getting the trial’s cut.”

USC swimming coach McGee Moody said not many freshman swimmers have a season as successful as Barksdale’s.

She was named the USC new student Athletes of the Year along with David Winters (men’s track and field) at the Gamecocks Gala last week.

“The NCAA Championship meet is the fastest meet on the planet,” Moody said. “It’s the hardest meet to get into and for a freshman to be able to come in and not only compete at the SEC level, but to make NCAAs, that’s a big deal. She did a great job and I think she’s going to use that confidence from NCAAs and kind of help take that forward to Olympic trials.”

Moody was so impressed with Barksdale this season that he moved her to a more intense practice group.

“We even moved her mid-season over to our distance group quite a bit to try to help get her 400 IM ready,” Moody said. “That’s not a move that a lot of athletes can make if you’re not a distance swimmer and she never questioned it once. I think it made her a tougher athlete and a better competitor.”

Barksdale isn’t as muscular as most female collegiate swimmers. However, she’s able to compensate for her size with her efficiency in the water.

“She’s not a big, muscular girl,” Moody said. “She has a lot less muscle than a lot of these girls and where she lacks in muscle she makes up for in technique.”

Moody admits that the odds of Barksdale making it to the semi-finals of the Olympic trials are slim, but competing there presents a great learning experience.

“In her event, there will be close to 100 to 110 athletes that will qualify. They’ll take two,” Moody said. “Ideally, when you look outside of about 16 people, everyone else is just there to try for the experience and to try to get faster. Ninety-nine percent of people at that meet have no shot of making the Olympic team, but it’s the experience of walking into the Quest Center in Omaha, Neb., and swimming in front of 19,000 people and over a million people on NBC that draws you to that.”

While Barksdale is excited for the Olympic trials, she’s spending most of her time preparing for her events.

“I’m just bearing down in training right now,” Barksdale said. “I’m getting back into lifting and giving 100 percent each workout. It’s definitely hard after SECs and NCAAs being able to taper. Everything is so much more relaxed. You’ve really got to train hard to get your base back.”

As for next season, Moody believes Barksdale has the ability to become an All-American.

“She made NCAAs. The goal now is to get there and score,” Moody said. “We want to put points on the board. What we really have to decide is do we want to make a move and kind of make her that 400 IM and swim her up in the distance event. I really think she has a great shot if she continues on the path she’s on right now to be an All-American next year.”

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 2:30 PM.