Every four years, swimming captivates the world and gets the national spotlight at the Olympics. The road to Tokyo starts with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. This year, five Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics (AGUA) swimmers qualified for the prestigious event. Years of hard work and dedication have led to this moment. Get to know the AGUA athletes below, and tune in to cheer them on. Catch the action here.
Information will be updated as race times become available.
SOPHIA ZHANG
Events:
- 100 Breaststroke: Saturday, June 5, 11:16am
Three things always in your swim bag: extra hair ties, noise-canceling headphones, and a pair of fuzzy socks!
Advice to younger athletes? Trust the process and never doubt the work you put in. Don’t forget to have fun and be there for your teammates!
What is your favorite memory swimming at Asphalt Green? Every single relay I ever got to swim with my teammates! Especially the corkscrew relays in practice.
HELEN WOJDYLO
Events:
- 100 Breaststroke: Saturday, June 5, 11:16am
Three things always in your swim bag: Extra suit, extra ponytails, tempo trainer
Advice to younger athletes? Always give 100% at practice.
What is your favorite memory swimming at Asphalt Green? Swimming the hundred game with the group over spring break or the countless swims with Penelope as we push each other through and nearly every swim with the breaststroke squad (Coach David’s favorite stroke group).
ISABEL GORMLEY
Events:
- 400 Individual Medley: Sunday, June 13 - 12:31pm
- 400 Freestyle: Monday, June 14 - 12:31pm
- 200 Freestyle: Tuesday, June 15 - 11am
- 200 Individual Medley: Tuesday, June 15 - 11:50am
- 800 Freestyle: Friday, June 18 - 11am
- 200 Backstroke: Friday, June 18 - 12:21pm
Three things always in your swim bag: bike keys, novelty child size face masks, and airpods
Advice to younger athletes? Best advice I’ve ever gotten is just to have fun and enjoy every moment of it. When you’re racing, stop worrying about how things could go wrong and just be present and race because you want to be there.
What is your favorite memory swimming at Asphalt Green? My favorite memory is definitely my first Trials cut at 2016 Senior Mets. I could see all my teammates and coaches cheering on the side of the pool and that support 100% helped me hit the time. Everyone rushed onto the bulkhead after I finished for a big group hug and made the moment so special. Also, Coach David cried so pretty epic.
DYLAN PORGES
Events:
- 400 Freestyle: Sunday, June 13 - 11:54am
- 200 Butterfly: Tuesday, June 15 - 11:27am
- 800 Freestyle: Wednesday, June 16 - 12:04pm
- 1,500 Freestyle: Saturday, June 19 - 11:31am
Three things always in your swim bag: Body wash, an orange warm-up band, a plastic ducky.
Advice to younger athletes? My advice to younger swimmers would be to have fun and talk during practice (when the coaches aren’t) and enjoy the friendships you make in practice as they can be some of your best.
What is your favorite memory swimming at Asphalt Green? My favorite Agua memories are always when swimmers who have graduated would come and swim with us at meets and especially on relays.
DYLAN RHEE
Events:
- 100 Breaststroke: Sunday, June 13 - 1:09pm
- 200 Breaststroke: Wednesday, June 16 - 11:38am
Three things always in your swim bag: 42 oz water bottle, mint chocolate Clif Bar, Biofreeze
Advice to younger athletes? Enjoy the sport of swimming for what it is. If you can have fun racing and training hard every day, you will get better.
What is your favorite memory swimming at Asphalt Green? My favorite memory swimming at Asphalt Green is winning Senior Mets as a team in 2018. The previous year, we came in fourth, trailing the winning team by nearly 300 points, so it was a great feeling to seemingly come out of nowhere and take the title.