Last night I did something really fun and unexpected. My family tuned in to watch the Olympic swimming trials on NBC in prime time, feeling the excitement of our friends in Omaha while we sat in our living room in Houston.
You see I found out this week that the college aged son of old friends of ours from Pennsylvania would be swimming in three events in the trials. Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I learned that Nate Savoy is now a rising sophomore on the swim team at Penn State (my alma mater). His whole family joined him in Omaha and kept everyone up to date with event news and photos. They even encouraged us to follow along with his events on USASwimming.org.
Nate qualified for the 100 and 200 meter backstroke as well as the 200 IM. He ended up shaving 3.2 seconds off his time and placing 7th overall in heats for the 200 back and advanced to the semi-finals, which is why we were able to watch him in prime time last night!
 |
| Olympic medalists Kristy Kowal, Aaron Piersol, and Josh Davis with Nate Savoy. |
Being a die-hard Nittany Lion fan, I watched with great pride as Nate and a few other of his teammates wore the PSU logo on their caps and warm-up clothes. Nate paused and knelt before his semi-final race, giving glory to God. I’m told his theme verse is Phil. 4:13, which says “I can do ALL things through Him who gives me strength.”
In the end Nate just missed qualifying for the finals in his event, which takes place tonight. Six-time Olympic medalist, Ryan Lochte, is the heavy favorite in the event, expected to represent the US in London in many events. Only the top two finishers in the finals will compete in London. It will be fun to watch Ryan and the others swim tonight.
Still we are so thrilled for our friends, the Savoy family, who all got to experience Olympic trial excitement in Omaha. We’re amazed by the talent God has given Nate, and glad he will spend the next few years on the Penn State swim team.
Join us in watching the rest of the trials in the next few days and following the action on USASwimming.org. We can’t wait to cheer on Team USA in London in August!
This post was facilitated by USA Swimming and The Motherhood, but there is nothing sponsored about the excitement we felt for our friends during this experience.
Josh was at UT when I was there and we were in FCA together. He and his girlfriend (now wife, I believe) were just so nice and amazing. Good to see him in this post!
Josh was at UT when I was there and we were in FCA together. He and his girlfriend (now wife, I believe) were just so nice and amazing. Good to see him in this post!
Josh was at UT when I was there and we were in FCA together. He and his girlfriend (now wife, I believe) were just so nice and amazing. Good to see him in this post!