University of Minnesota Athletics
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/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Preview: Three Gopher Swimmers to Compete at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
7/22/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Though the games will take place from July 23 to August 8, the swimming events will all be held between July 24-31 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
"We are so excited for Bowe, Kierra and James getting this opportunity to compete amongst the best athletes in the world," said University of Minnesota head coach Kelly Kremer. "These are three outstanding individuals who truly deserve all that they have earned. I know we're all ready to see what they can do this week."
WHEN/WHERE TO TUNE IN
With Tokyo's time zone (JST) falling 14 hours ahead of Minnesota's (CDT), the preliminary heats of each event may prove difficult for fans in the states to watch live. Below is a comprehensive schedule of when each swimming session that features a Minnesota Gopher will take place.
2020 Tokyo Olympics (Tokyo, Japan)
Saturday, July 24: 5 a.m. CDT | Heats
Saturday, July 24: 8:30 p.m. CDT | Semis/Finals
Sunday, July 25: 5 a.m. CDT | Heats
Sunday, July 25: 8:30 p.m. CDT | Semis/Finals
Monday, July 26: 8:30 p.m. CDT | Semis/Finals
**Delayed coverage
As for where fans can tune in to cheer on the Maroon and Gold, NBC will be providing the exclusive coverage of the event, which will be broadcast/streamed on their various platforms which include NBC, NBCSN, NBCOlympics.com, etc. They will also be utilizing their streaming platform, Peacock, to show highlights of the most exciting events throughout the two-week event and allow for fans to keep up with their favorite sports despite the time difference.
A more complete schedule to which platforms will be streaming which events can be found through the link listed at the top of the page, or through the link here.
MAROON & GOLD QUALIFIERS
Three Gophers made the cut to compete at the 2020 games, including alum Bowe Becker (United States), alumna Kierra Smith (Canada) and sophomore James Freeman (Botswana).
Becker was the first of the trio to earn his invite, doing so in late June at Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials. There, the Las Vegas, Nev. native notched a fifth place finish in the men's 100-meter freestyle to earn his bid as a member of the men's 4x100m free relay.
Following Becker on the Olympic selection track was Smith, whose performance at the 2021 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials earned her her second straight Olympic bid, having also competed in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Smith will take on the 100m breaststroke this time around, an event she placed 19th in her last Olympic appearance.
Freeman was the last of the bunch to officially receive his invite to compete in Tokyo, which came less than a month prior to the start of the Games. He is also the only Gopher swimmer to be competing in multiple events at this year's Games, as he will take on both the men's 200m and 400m freestyle events.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Below is a full breakdown of the dates on which a Minnesota Gopher will be competing in Tokyo and the respective athletes competing in each event.
Saturday, July 24
M 400 Free (Heats/Final) // James Freeman
Sunday, July 25
M 200 Free (Heats/Semis) // James Freeman
W 100 Breast (Heats/Semis) // Kierra Smith
M 4x100 Free Relay (Heats/Final) // Bowe Becker
Monday, July 26
M 200 Free (Finals) // James Freeman
W 100 Breast (Finals) // Kierra Smith
BECKER: FROM UNKNOWN TO OLYMPIAN
Before Bowe Becker became the athlete that he is today, nobody could have predicted what he would accomplish over his incredibly successful career. In fact, head coach Kelly Kremer originally discovered him completely by circumstance.
"The first time I saw Bowe swim, it was really by chance," Kremer said. "I was actually out in Vegas watching another student-athlete on the women's side, and I just happened to see him during the last ten minutes or so of that practice. I asked [Becker's club coach] for his best times, talked with him after practice and then immediately called one of our assistants back here in Minnesota about him. His times didn't really stand out at that point, but I could just tell that if he were able to keep a good relationship with the sport of swimming moving forward that he could be pretty darn good."
Though it's clear now that Becker is significantly better than "pretty darn good", it seemed as though the rest of the collegiate swimming world didn't see nearly the talent which Kremer did. In fact, Minnesota was the only Power Five school to recruit Becker out of high school.
"We were actually the only Power Five school to recruit him," said Kremer. "When we signed him in November, I think his 100 free time was around 47 seconds, but he managed to see a massive drop in the spring of his senior year that brought him down to the 45 second range. And I'll be honest, I thought he would be good, but nobody could've predicted that he would go 40.8 to finish his college career and ultimately become an Olympian."
Becker spent his four collegiate seasons tearing through his competition, peaking in his junior and senior years. Over that time, he managed to win three Big Ten Championship titles, place top-four in three individual NCAA Championship events and set seven Gopher program and two Big Ten Conference records, all en route to becoming one of the most electric sprint freestylers the University has ever seen.
Since Becker graduated from Minnesota in 2019, he's spent two seasons with the Cali Condors of the International Swimming League from 2019-21. His most recent success, however, came at Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials, where he posted a fourth and fifth place finish overall in the 50 (21.78) and 100 freestyle (48.22) events, respectively, to earn his spot on the United States' 2021 Olympic roster.
"It's just an awesome story," Kremer said. "Bowe definitely doesn't have a perfect career. He's had his ups and downs and he went through adversity like every other college student does, so it's even more special to see a young man like that come out on top on the other side. It's been a really cool ride."
FREEMAN AT LAST
A Botswana native, Minnesota sophomore James Freeman faced a rather unique obstacle caused by the COVID-19 pandemic before joining the Maroon and Gold in the winter of 2020; he couldn't swim. As lockdowns shut down buildings and facilities worldwide, Botswana faced significantly longer shutdowns than the United States. Among those shutdown facilities were swimming pools, limiting Freeman's access to train prior to arriving in Minneapolis just before the start of the 2020-21 season.
Amongst adjusting to swimming in the short course yards format, that lack of training took a major toll on Freeman throughout his freshman season, slowing him through the regular season significantly. By the time the Big Ten Conference Championships came around, however, Freeman blew his coaches away with his performance, including registering an 11th and 17th place finish in the 500 free (4:19.95) and 1650 free (15:11.51), respectively. Both times were fast enough to earn the freshman standout NCAA 'B' cuts, and both placed him amongst the all time top-15 performers in Minnesota history.
"When we got to the conference meet, [Freeman] really wasn't nearly as fit as we wanted him to be," Kremer said. "We just hadn't been in the water long enough for him to be in peak shape, so he really didn't have a chance to compete at all. Honestly, it's pretty amazing what he accomplished at our conference meet knowing how out of shape he was. I can't wait to see what the future holds for that young man, it's going to be a lot of fun to be a part of."
Now, Freeman is faced with yet another challenge as he heads into the 2020 Tokyo Games considered a long shot to earn a second swim in either of his events. Regardless, Kremer believes this opportunity to be essential for Freeman as he continues to grow and develop into the elite athlete he can be.
"The thing you see from James is that he's an elite swimmer. He is going to be truly great, and for me, this Olympic experience is going to be just that. I'm just so excited that he has an opportunity to gain experience from this. That's something we will really be able to utilize over the next 36 months as we prepare for the 2024 games. It's a gift that we're going to take full advantage of, and he's only going to get better. He just needs to be in the pool."
SMITH'S SECOND SERVING
Unlike her two fellow Gophers attending the 2020 Games, 2017 Minnesota grad Kierra Smith will be entering with some Olympic experience at her disposal, having competed at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro as well. There, Smith earned a berth in the finals of the 200 breaststroke while falling just short of a second swim in the 100 breaststroke. The latter is a stat the Kelowna, British Columbia native is ready to change.
Similar to Freeman, Smith faced struggles with her training regamine while preparing for the 2020 games, needing to make massive alterations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though she began her training here in the heart of Minneapolis, Smith was forced to head back to Canada early to ensure she'd be ready for the Canadian Trials.
"Kierra was training for the games with us here in Minnesota through November," said Kremer. "At that time, we thought the Canadian Trials were going to be in April, and since she would need to quarantine once she got there, we knew she couldn't go home too close to the trials."
The 2015 NCAA Champion refused to let the setback get her down, as she managed to put up a pair of top-three finishes in the two individual breaststroke events at the Canadian Trials to officially secure her bid to Tokyo. The resiliance and determination Smith showed was no surprise for Kremer, however.
"She did an outstanding job to overcome as much as she has in the past 2-3 years," Kremer said. "Just for her to make the Olympic team is a tremendous victory, in my opinion. She's really a champion in so many ways, and I'm just happy she has this opportunity to go to Tokyo. It will be fun to see how she performs."
With another chance at Olympic greatness ahead of her, Smith is ready to show how fast she can be once again on the world's brightest stage.
- Three Gopher swimmers have punched their tickets to Tokyo for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
- The swimming portion of the Games will take place from July 24-31, and will be held at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
- Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Though the games will take place from July 23 to August 8, the swimming events will all be held between July 24-31 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
"We are so excited for Bowe, Kierra and James getting this opportunity to compete amongst the best athletes in the world," said University of Minnesota head coach Kelly Kremer. "These are three outstanding individuals who truly deserve all that they have earned. I know we're all ready to see what they can do this week."
WHEN/WHERE TO TUNE IN
With Tokyo's time zone (JST) falling 14 hours ahead of Minnesota's (CDT), the preliminary heats of each event may prove difficult for fans in the states to watch live. Below is a comprehensive schedule of when each swimming session that features a Minnesota Gopher will take place.
2020 Tokyo Olympics (Tokyo, Japan)
Saturday, July 24: 5 a.m. CDT | Heats
Saturday, July 24: 8:30 p.m. CDT | Semis/Finals
Sunday, July 25: 5 a.m. CDT | Heats
Sunday, July 25: 8:30 p.m. CDT | Semis/Finals
Monday, July 26: 8:30 p.m. CDT | Semis/Finals
**Delayed coverage
As for where fans can tune in to cheer on the Maroon and Gold, NBC will be providing the exclusive coverage of the event, which will be broadcast/streamed on their various platforms which include NBC, NBCSN, NBCOlympics.com, etc. They will also be utilizing their streaming platform, Peacock, to show highlights of the most exciting events throughout the two-week event and allow for fans to keep up with their favorite sports despite the time difference.
A more complete schedule to which platforms will be streaming which events can be found through the link listed at the top of the page, or through the link here.
MAROON & GOLD QUALIFIERS
Three Gophers made the cut to compete at the 2020 games, including alum Bowe Becker (United States), alumna Kierra Smith (Canada) and sophomore James Freeman (Botswana).
Becker was the first of the trio to earn his invite, doing so in late June at Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials. There, the Las Vegas, Nev. native notched a fifth place finish in the men's 100-meter freestyle to earn his bid as a member of the men's 4x100m free relay.
Following Becker on the Olympic selection track was Smith, whose performance at the 2021 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials earned her her second straight Olympic bid, having also competed in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Smith will take on the 100m breaststroke this time around, an event she placed 19th in her last Olympic appearance.
Freeman was the last of the bunch to officially receive his invite to compete in Tokyo, which came less than a month prior to the start of the Games. He is also the only Gopher swimmer to be competing in multiple events at this year's Games, as he will take on both the men's 200m and 400m freestyle events.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Below is a full breakdown of the dates on which a Minnesota Gopher will be competing in Tokyo and the respective athletes competing in each event.
Saturday, July 24
M 400 Free (Heats/Final) // James Freeman
Sunday, July 25
M 200 Free (Heats/Semis) // James Freeman
W 100 Breast (Heats/Semis) // Kierra Smith
M 4x100 Free Relay (Heats/Final) // Bowe Becker
Monday, July 26
M 200 Free (Finals) // James Freeman
W 100 Breast (Finals) // Kierra Smith
BECKER: FROM UNKNOWN TO OLYMPIAN
Before Bowe Becker became the athlete that he is today, nobody could have predicted what he would accomplish over his incredibly successful career. In fact, head coach Kelly Kremer originally discovered him completely by circumstance.
"The first time I saw Bowe swim, it was really by chance," Kremer said. "I was actually out in Vegas watching another student-athlete on the women's side, and I just happened to see him during the last ten minutes or so of that practice. I asked [Becker's club coach] for his best times, talked with him after practice and then immediately called one of our assistants back here in Minnesota about him. His times didn't really stand out at that point, but I could just tell that if he were able to keep a good relationship with the sport of swimming moving forward that he could be pretty darn good."
Though it's clear now that Becker is significantly better than "pretty darn good", it seemed as though the rest of the collegiate swimming world didn't see nearly the talent which Kremer did. In fact, Minnesota was the only Power Five school to recruit Becker out of high school.
"We were actually the only Power Five school to recruit him," said Kremer. "When we signed him in November, I think his 100 free time was around 47 seconds, but he managed to see a massive drop in the spring of his senior year that brought him down to the 45 second range. And I'll be honest, I thought he would be good, but nobody could've predicted that he would go 40.8 to finish his college career and ultimately become an Olympian."
Becker spent his four collegiate seasons tearing through his competition, peaking in his junior and senior years. Over that time, he managed to win three Big Ten Championship titles, place top-four in three individual NCAA Championship events and set seven Gopher program and two Big Ten Conference records, all en route to becoming one of the most electric sprint freestylers the University has ever seen.
Since Becker graduated from Minnesota in 2019, he's spent two seasons with the Cali Condors of the International Swimming League from 2019-21. His most recent success, however, came at Wave II of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials, where he posted a fourth and fifth place finish overall in the 50 (21.78) and 100 freestyle (48.22) events, respectively, to earn his spot on the United States' 2021 Olympic roster.
"It's just an awesome story," Kremer said. "Bowe definitely doesn't have a perfect career. He's had his ups and downs and he went through adversity like every other college student does, so it's even more special to see a young man like that come out on top on the other side. It's been a really cool ride."
FREEMAN AT LAST
A Botswana native, Minnesota sophomore James Freeman faced a rather unique obstacle caused by the COVID-19 pandemic before joining the Maroon and Gold in the winter of 2020; he couldn't swim. As lockdowns shut down buildings and facilities worldwide, Botswana faced significantly longer shutdowns than the United States. Among those shutdown facilities were swimming pools, limiting Freeman's access to train prior to arriving in Minneapolis just before the start of the 2020-21 season.
Amongst adjusting to swimming in the short course yards format, that lack of training took a major toll on Freeman throughout his freshman season, slowing him through the regular season significantly. By the time the Big Ten Conference Championships came around, however, Freeman blew his coaches away with his performance, including registering an 11th and 17th place finish in the 500 free (4:19.95) and 1650 free (15:11.51), respectively. Both times were fast enough to earn the freshman standout NCAA 'B' cuts, and both placed him amongst the all time top-15 performers in Minnesota history.
"When we got to the conference meet, [Freeman] really wasn't nearly as fit as we wanted him to be," Kremer said. "We just hadn't been in the water long enough for him to be in peak shape, so he really didn't have a chance to compete at all. Honestly, it's pretty amazing what he accomplished at our conference meet knowing how out of shape he was. I can't wait to see what the future holds for that young man, it's going to be a lot of fun to be a part of."
Now, Freeman is faced with yet another challenge as he heads into the 2020 Tokyo Games considered a long shot to earn a second swim in either of his events. Regardless, Kremer believes this opportunity to be essential for Freeman as he continues to grow and develop into the elite athlete he can be.
"The thing you see from James is that he's an elite swimmer. He is going to be truly great, and for me, this Olympic experience is going to be just that. I'm just so excited that he has an opportunity to gain experience from this. That's something we will really be able to utilize over the next 36 months as we prepare for the 2024 games. It's a gift that we're going to take full advantage of, and he's only going to get better. He just needs to be in the pool."
SMITH'S SECOND SERVING
Unlike her two fellow Gophers attending the 2020 Games, 2017 Minnesota grad Kierra Smith will be entering with some Olympic experience at her disposal, having competed at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro as well. There, Smith earned a berth in the finals of the 200 breaststroke while falling just short of a second swim in the 100 breaststroke. The latter is a stat the Kelowna, British Columbia native is ready to change.
Similar to Freeman, Smith faced struggles with her training regamine while preparing for the 2020 games, needing to make massive alterations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though she began her training here in the heart of Minneapolis, Smith was forced to head back to Canada early to ensure she'd be ready for the Canadian Trials.
"Kierra was training for the games with us here in Minnesota through November," said Kremer. "At that time, we thought the Canadian Trials were going to be in April, and since she would need to quarantine once she got there, we knew she couldn't go home too close to the trials."
The 2015 NCAA Champion refused to let the setback get her down, as she managed to put up a pair of top-three finishes in the two individual breaststroke events at the Canadian Trials to officially secure her bid to Tokyo. The resiliance and determination Smith showed was no surprise for Kremer, however.
"She did an outstanding job to overcome as much as she has in the past 2-3 years," Kremer said. "Just for her to make the Olympic team is a tremendous victory, in my opinion. She's really a champion in so many ways, and I'm just happy she has this opportunity to go to Tokyo. It will be fun to see how she performs."
With another chance at Olympic greatness ahead of her, Smith is ready to show how fast she can be once again on the world's brightest stage.
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