Two-time Olympic swimmer Gabrielle Rose has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at the age of 46, 23 years after her most recent Olympics.
After qualifying over the weekend, Rose will compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June at 47, the oldest swimmer at the trials in decades. Rose qualified for two events, the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke.
Previously, the oldest swimmer in recent memory was Dara Torres, who was 45 at her last U.S. trials in 2012; Torres finished fourth in the 50 meter freestyle that year.
“It’s light, it doesn’t feel like a big bet,” Rose told NBC Sports on Monday. “I’m fitting into a busy lifestyle where I’m not really a priority, like having my daughter and working, and so I just have perspective and I’m able to appreciate every day with a different level of desire and intention.” And am able to seize.”
Rose, who was born in Rio de Janeiro to American parents who were living in Brazil for work, competed in both the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Rose swam three events for Brazil in 1996; In 2000, she competed for Team USA in the 200 meter individual medley and finished seventh.
Although he bid for the 2004 Olympic team, he contracted mononucleosis before the competition. Rose finished eighth in the 100 meter freestyle, just outside the top six cutoff to make the team. She retired shortly thereafter and has been competing at the Masters level ever since.
Rose qualified for the trials over the weekend with a career-best time of 01:09.42 in the 100 m breaststroke and 2:31.68 for the 200 m breaststroke. The qualifying times for the Tokyo Olympic team for those two events were 1:05.28 and 2:21.75. Many swimmers, including Rose, considered competing at the U.S. Trials a goal in itself.
“Masters swimming has been like a lifeline for me,” he told NBC. “I just enjoy the camaraderie and the community and being connected to the water.”
In addition to her goal of testing, Rose recently accomplished a long-term goal of renovating the Aquatics Center at the University of Memphis, where she grew up. The pool is named for his late father, former Holiday Inn CEO Mike Rose, who died in 2017.