By Riley Overend on SwimSwam
Bermuda, Kenya, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, and Cambodia have all announced their Olympic rosters for Paris next month.
Smaller countries with swimmers who haven’t hit Olympic qualifying times can still send one male and one female swimmer to Paris in accordance with World Aquatics’ universality selection criteria.
Bermuda
The sibling duo of Emma Harvey and Jack Harvey will both represent Bermuda in the 100 backstroke, according to the Bermuda Olympic Association. Emma earned a universality nod thanks to her personal-best 1:01.21 at the Mare Nostrum stop in Barcelona last month, still more than a second off the Olympic ‘A’ cut (59.99). Jack secured his spot courtesy of his personal-best 55.19 at last month’s AP Race London International, also more than a second off the Olympic ‘A’ cut (53.74).
They competed at last year’s Pan American Games, with Jack making the 200 back B-final (2:04.57) and Emma placing 8th in the 100 back (1:02.35), 9th in the 100 butterfly (1:00.72), and 11th in the 50 freestyle (25.81). They also gained international racing experience at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. Emma just wrapped up her NCAA career at Penn State while Jack is a rising senior for the Nittany Lions.
Kenya
Maria Brunlehner and Ridhwan Mohamed punched their tickets to Paris by totaling the most World Aquatics points among Kenyan swimmers. Brunlehner, a 24-year-old rising senior at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, recently lowered her own national record in the 50 free (26.12) at the 2024 World Championships in February. The Olympic ‘A’ cut sits at 24.70.
Mohamed qualified in the 400 free with his personal-best 4:04.39 from the Golden Bear Meet earlier this month in Zagreb, Croatia, which lowered his own national record (4:06.44) February’s World Championships. He’s still a ways off the Olympic qualifying time of 3:46.78.
Puerto Rico
Kristen Romano, a former Ohio State swimmer who now trains at Tennessee, will represent Puerto Rico in Paris alongside Yeziel Morales. Romano is fresh off a season-best 2:13.09 200 IM that won the event at last month’s Atlanta Classic. At February’s World Championships, she placed 12th in the 200 IM (2:13.33), 11th in the 400 IM (4:45.78), and 20th in the 200 back (2:14.46).
Morales earned a runner-up finish in the 200 back (1:58.76) at last month’s Atlanta Classic. At February’s World Championships, the 28-year-old placed 17th in the 200 back (1:59.38). It will be the first Olympics for both Morales and Romano.
Paraguay
Former SMU swimmer Luana Alonso is headed to her second Olympics for Paraguay along with Matheo Mateos, an incoming graduate transfer from Lindenwood to Purdue. Alonso placed 28th in the 100 fly (1:00.37) at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She also placed 20th in the 100 fly (1:01.25) at the 2022 World Championships, 33rd (1:01.16) at 2023 Worlds, and 30th at 2024 Worlds (1:02.33).
Mateos recently equaled his best 200 IM from 2022 with a 2:03.31 at last month’s Brazilian Olympic Trials. Purdue hasn’t boasted an incoming Olympic men’s swimmer since Gerald Koh (Singapore) back in 1996.
Cambodia
Former Ball State swimmer Apsara Sakbun will represent Cambodia at the Paris Olympics next month. She’ll compete in the 50 free on August 3rd after clocking a national record of 26.44 at the Southeast Asian Games last May. Sakbun is the sister of Brandon Sakbun, mayor of Terre Haute, Indiana.
“Every child who swims grows up dreaming of going to the Olympic Games,” said Sakbun, who balances training with a full-time job at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I am beyond honored to have the opportunity to represent Cambodia at the highest level.”
SwimSwam: Bermuda, Kenya, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Cambodia All Announce Olympic Swim Rosters for Paris
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