Avon Swimmer Kennedy Determined to Make 2016 Olympics

Former swimmer , 24, , but she is not backing down from trying a third time in 2016.

”I honestly believe I have yet to exhaust my potential,” Kennedy, a member of USA Swimming, said. “I get way more experience every single time I swim.”

While Kennedy competed in the semifinals for the 200 fly and the 50 free at the 2008 Olympic Trials as a University of California-Berkeley (Cal) swim team member, this year was the first time she advanced to not only one final but two. She said that nerves weren’t a factor in not qualifying, but that she could have been more mentally and emotionally prepared.

“I was pretty close, but not enough,” Kennedy said. “I don’t know if I had had the experience of three swims of each race. It's not something you normally do.”

However, the way Kennedy sees it, U.S. Olympic Trials boasts the fastest swimmers in the world, perhaps even faster than the competition internationally at the Olympics. So, it’s an honor to qualify, she said.

Kennedy was about a half a second away from qualifying for the Olympics in the 50 free final (25.10), her signature race, placing fifth out of eighth. Only the top two make it and the race is so fast and short that it can be like a “crapshoot,” Kennedy said.

“It’s like doing math test and the types of problem you get wrong are the ones that you get the best at,” Kennedy said.

But she did swim her personal fastest time in the first round of trials, tying for third overall with North Carolina SwimMac teammate Kara Lynn Joyce – who placed second in the finals to qualify for the Olympics. She beat Joyce by .01 seconds in the semifinal (24.96). Hardy won the final, just ahead of Joyce, to make the U.S. team.

The 100 free, which Kennedy swam first, is her weaker race of the two, but she recorded her personal best time in the semifinal (54.45). While it was frustrating to finish eighth in the final (54.83), just two places shy of being a top six qualifier for the relay, she hadn’t expected to make the finals.

“You just think to yourself, someone has to be eighth,” Kennedy said.

However, she was happy that her friend and fellow Cal grad Natalie Coughlin – who did not qualify for the 100 backstroke or fly as expected – made the cut for another Olympic run.

“The fact that [Natalie] got to qualify for the 100 eases the pain that I didn’t,” Kennedy said. “[Cara and Jessica] have been doing really well in 50 for really long time, so they have it down.”

That optimism is something her parents, Jordana – who helped coach her at Avon High between 2000 and 2005 – and James Kennedy have instilled in her. They, along with her sisters, Jessie and Hannah, made the trip to Omaha, NE in late June to early July to watch her compete in Olympic Trials.

“Dad always says, ‘do your best. Do what you need to do be really great,” Kennedy said. “I didn’t really get that upset.”

She is looking forward to rooting for the U.S. swim team as they compete in London over the next couple weeks. The 2012 Olympics began Friday.

When Kennedy watches Coughlin and her favorites swim, she said she has a habit of standing close to the TV for those races, nerves building. Despite being talkative and outgoing, she doesn’t cheer out loud. She remains silent and focused, almost willing them to win.

London is not in the cards for her this summer, but she’ll have a shot at international competition again in the World Cup Circuit this fall, possibly traveling to Europe, Dubai and Stockholm.

While this year’s Olympic Trials was a reality check for her as she swam alongside athletes on the brink of ending their careers, Kennedy is not giving up on her dream to make it to the Olympics

“I figure I’ve come a long way since the last quad, so the next quad is going to be great,” she said.