Olympians say Omaha tops Beijing

When the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials return to Omaha in 2012, the event will end just short of Independence Day.

But four medal-winners from the Beijing Olympics say they're excited that the fireworks, in and out of the pool, will remain at Qwest Center Omaha.

News that a contract had been signed for the 2012 trials in Omaha kindled some fond memories for Olympic gold medalist and 200-meter backstroke world record-holder Ryan Lochte.

“The whole venue, the fireworks shows, everything like that, it was just insane,” Lochte said. “When you went to the blocks, you felt like a rock star getting ready to go on stage. It was really cool.”

That atmosphere — with the on-deck pyrotechnics and boisterous cheering from record-setting crowds — is what Lochte, Mark Gangloff, Margaret Hoelzer and Megan Jendrick hope to see replicated when they and close to 1,000 other swimmers descend on Omaha three years from now.

“Omaha couldn't have put on a better show last year,” two-time Olympic gold medalist Gangloff said. “I was pretty pumped when I heard they were going to get it back. The fireworks were right on the deck and I've never seen that anywhere. All of the world records (nine) gave it a little extra life in the arena.”

All four swimmers said the atmosphere in Beijing didn't come close to matching the intensity of the Omaha event. Lochte said a big part of that was the Qwest Center.

“It was better at the trials because everybody was so much closer,” Lochte said. “The Beijing pool was really open and it just felt like people were miles away. In Omaha, everyone was really close, kind of like at a basketball arena.”

Jendrick was disappointed when she heard that snags might prevent Omaha from playing host to what she said was easily the best of the three Olympic Trials in which she's participated.

“When I heard there were conflicts with that college baseball tournament and we probably wouldn't be able to go there, I was really bummed,” Jendrick said. “But a couple of weeks later, I heard things were going to work out so I was excited again.”

The College World Series at the new TD Ameritrade ballpark near the Qwest Center will overlap with the first and possibly the second day of the June 25 to July 2 trials. Hoelzer, who set a world record in the 200 backstroke to win the '08 trials, wasn't surprised that everything was eventually worked out.

“The city is very conducive to have events like that,” Hoelzer said. “They did a great job of getting people in there and making it easy for them.”

Making the event as simple as possible for the stars of the show and those most important to them is part of what both Hoelzer and Jendrick said made 2008 so memorable.

“If anything was wrong behind the scenes, they did a good job of camouflaging it and not making it obvious,” Hoelzer said. “From an athlete's perspective and what my parents told me, everything was done well.”

What separated the 2008 trials from the other three Jendrick has participated in was the way the event was structured and presented.

“They put it on like it was an event instead of it being just another swim meet,” Jendrick said. “It was exciting for the athletes to go out and have a big crowd like that.

“There were 12,000 or more people there, but it was a more intimate setting. It made it a lot more exciting for the athletes because it was such an electric atmosphere.”

The only thing she would like to see change in 2012 is to get bigger crowds for the prelim swims during the day.

“The early events didn't have the same intensity as the finals,” she said.

The competition pool and arena setting weren't the only parts of the Omaha experience to receive praise from the four. Behind-the-scenes amenities such as the warm-up pool and other facilities not open to the general public also made the trials' experience special.

“Everything was pretty much like perfect,” Lochte said. “I really loved the whole Jumbotron (scoreboard) thing in the middle. That was cool, but you also had the warm-down area, the athlete and massage area with hot tubs.

“They had some of that (in Beijing), but not to the extent that it was in Omaha. They had rubdown areas but it wasn't well set up, and they had a warm-down area, but it was just a bunch of scattered tables around the deck.

“It wasn't as good as the trials.”

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