By Mark Nesvig, Sports Editor

Former Laker and current University of Minnesota swimmer Kim Kazika was part of an elite group of competitors taking part in this week’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb.

“It was the most nerve-wracking experience I’ve ever had,” Kazika said. “It was really cool, though.”

Kazika, a 2006 graduate of Prior Lake High School, was one of just 106 swimmers in the nation to earn a spot in the Olympic Trials for the 100-meter breaststroke.

Seeded 73rd with a time of 1 minute, 12.00 seconds going into the Olympic Trials, Kazika placed 94th with a time of 1:13.74 on June 30.

For now, only the top four swimmers in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle, along with the winners of all other events, automatically qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team.

The second-place finishers in all other events may be named to the team at the conclusion of the Olympic Trials, pending swimmers qualifying in multiple events.

Earning the automatic U.S. Olympic Team berth in the 100 breaststroke was Jessica Hardy, who posted a time of 1:06.87 to place first in the finals. Megan Jendrick placed second with a time of 1:07.50.

“The atmosphere was really intense,” Kazika said. “It was just so loud in there. It’s really hard to explain how much energy was in the pool area for every single race.”

Kazika was one of the last swimmers to qualify for the Olympic Trials, achieving the necessary time standard in a June club meet at the U of M.

Knowing it was her last shot at earning a spot in the Olympic Trials, Kazika shaved and tapered in advance of the meet.

On Day 1, however, she narrowly missed the cut of 1:12.59 in the 100 breaststroke but did have the opportunity to try to achieve the cut during the first half of the 200 breaststroke on Day 2 of the meet.

“I had a decision to make,” Kazika said. “I could either try to qualify in the 200 or I could go all out and try to make the 100 cut. But if you do go for the 100 cut, you still have to finish the race.”

Kazika decided to go for the cut in the 100 and ended up posting a personal-best mark of 1:12.00 to earn a berth in the Olympic Trials.

“That last 100 meters was the toughest of my life,” Kazika said. “I tried to look up [after finishing the first 100 meters] to see my time, but my goggles were too blurry, and I couldn’t see. At the 150 wall, my teammates were there cheering for me, and I figured they weren’t mean enough to do that if I hadn’t qualified, so that’s when I knew.

“There aren’t even words to explain how I felt. This has been my dream since I started swimming when I was eight years old.”

While at Prior Lake, Kazika was a two-time All-America swimmer, a four-time all-state swimmer and a six-time All-Missota Conference swimmer.

A six-time state qualifier, she was the state runner-up in the 100 breaststroke in both 2002 and 2005.

After helping the Gophers capture the Big 10 championship last season, Kazika will begin her junior year in the fall.

“I’ve already started training,” Kazika said. “My next big goal would be making it to the NCAAs next year.”