Corvallis Gazette-Times

Logan Storie accomplished almost everything he wanted to at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Neb.

The sophomore-to-be at the University of Florida dropped 4 seconds from his previous best in the 1,500-meter free on Saturday to finish 11th overall in the event.

“Obviously I would have loved to be in the top eight because the top eight get a second chance to go to the Olympics,” said Storie, a 2007 Corvallis High graduate.

The finals for the 1,500 will be contested tonight.

At the previous two Olympic trials, Storie’s time of 15 minutes, 27 seconds would have put him in the finals. Still, it was his best placing at the trials.

Storie finished 13th overall in the 400 free with a four-second P.R. He was 53rd in the 200 free, the only race where he finished lower than his seed.

He spent the meet trying to avoid getting caught up in the atmosphere.

“My college coach told me to come in, get used to the atmosphere as quick as you can,” Storie said. “There’s American flags and lights flashing everywhere. He told me to pretend it was a normal meet, that I was there to race and go fast.

“If you think about it being the Olympic Trials, that’s a lot of pressure right there.”

A year ago Storie had the objective of gaining experience at the trials this year, building toward the 2012 Olympics. He is still following that plan.

“Not only will I have four more years of training and experience,” Storie said. “There are a handful of older milers ... who you don’t expect to be there four years from now, if you kick them out of the mix ...”

Watching the meet, which Storie will do again today, has been an amazing experience in itself.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “Just standing there in the stands, watching Ryan Lochte and Dara Torres, watching their splits, it gets loud. I just can’t believe I’m watching the fastest meet in the world right now.”

A number of world records have fallen during the meet and much was made of the new technology in the swimsuits, in particular the Speedo LAZR.

Storie wore a version of the LAZR, but didn’t believe it was the key to his faster times.

“It feels good, but it’s a lot harder to get on. It’s real tight, but flexible so you can turn,” he said. “I don’t think that contributed, or was a huge part of me going faster; it’s the training that I’ve put in that made me faster. There are other swimmers here wearing the suit who have added time.”

Storie wasn’t one of those, though.