Bluffton swimmer comes up short in longshot Olympic bid

Bluffton swimmer Andrew Faciszewski fell short in Saturday’s bid to reach the final of the men’s 1,500 freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials, completing his heat 50 seconds off the time needed to advance to the eight-man finale.

The Air Force Academy senior touched the wall in 16 minutes, 7.37 seconds, placing 87th among the 97 entrants for Olympic swimming’s longest race. While those advancing kept lap times between 30 and 31 seconds, Faciszewski hovered around 32  1/2.

Connor Jaeger, who set the American record last August, was Saturday’s top qualifier with a time of 14:58.59. The next two spots also were no suprise, with Jordan Wilimovsky second (15:05.89) and Michael McBroom third (15:07.42).

The final will be run Sunday, with the top two finishers earning a trip to Rio de Janeiro.

Faciszewski now hopes to point his efforts to the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Following graduation next spring, he’s expressed an interest in the Air Force’s World Class Athlete Program, which would allow him to be reassigned in 2018 for a two-year stint of training for a possible Olympic berth.

This story was originally published July 2, 2016 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Bluffton swimmer comes up short in longshot Olympic bid."