After an undefeated senior season in individual swimming events, Greenwich High School graduate Jack Montesi felt ready for a bigger stage at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at CenturyLink Center in Omaha. He concluded his week touching the wall 44th in the men’s 100-meter butterfly (54.12) on Friday and leaves with new goals for the 2020 Trials.
“Maybe four years from now, I can finish in the top eight or top 16,” he said, alluding to the finish needed to advance to the final or semifinal of an event. “I didn’t quite get my best times, but I got around them.”
Montesi also finished 61st in the 200-meter butterfly (2:03.47) and 81st in the 100-meter backstroke (56:84) earlier in the week.
The 18-year-old, who trains at Chelsea Piers Athletic Club, said it was a special experience to swim alongside the biggest names in swimming.
“Nothing competes with the atmosphere at the Olympic Trials,” Montesi said. “There’s a tension in the air with who will make the Olympic Team. The racing pool is in a huge arena, and it was nerve-wracking at first. But after I swam my first race, I got used to it as the week went on.”
The Hearst Connecticut Media Boys Swimming 2015-16 MVP even got to meet the top name in U.S. men’s swimming.
“The first day, I walked in, and my coach is talking to Michael Phelps, so he introduced me to him,” he said. “That was pretty special. It was pretty surreal to see some of the big names.”
The Riverside native says he plans to take some time off before getting back to training and preparing for his freshman season at the University of Notre Dame.
