Arena makes big splash ahead of Olympic Trials
Suburban Newspapers - Omaha Newstand
By: Judith Nygren , Midlands News Service
Only swimming superstar Michael Phelps outshone the Qwest Center Omaha as the biggest crowd-pleaser at the Mutual of Omaha Swimvitational. Even before the four-day event's final races Sunday night, top coaches, athletes and fans had declared Omaha an Olympic-caliber berth for the upcoming Swim Trials to determine who will represent the United States at the Beijing Games. "It's an amazing venue,'' Phelps said of the Qwest Center and its recent overhaul into a swimming arena. "We were talking about it, and it sort of reminds us of Worlds . . . . It whets our appetite a little bit to get us ready for Trials.'' The Swimvitational was the final Grand Prix meet before athletes arrive in Omaha for the U.S. Trials, June 29 through July 6. While no American or World records had fallen by Sunday afternoon, Phelps wowed crowds with his three golds, clinching the Toyota Grand Prix Series crown and its accompanying $20,000. Allison Schmitt marked her 18th birthday Saturday with a victory in the 200-meter freestyle. Her breakthrough time of 1.57.48 moved her from a long shot for the Olympic team to a contender.
Agata Korc -- who was among the foreign athletes in Omaha representing 21 different countries -- used the Swimvitational to post the top time in the women's 100-meter freestyle and to qualify for Poland's Olympic team. Brazilian Henrique Barbosa won the 100-meter breaststroke, the only other foreign-born swimmer to best some of America's top swimmers. Outside the water, local and national organizers used the event to test the waters at the Qwest Center. Harold Cliff, chief operating officer for the U.S. Olympic Trials, said he heard nothing but compliments about the Qwest Center setup. When U.S. Olympic swimming coach Mark Schubert called the Qwest Center "literally the best swimming venue'' he had ever seen, organizers knew they had gold heading into the Trials. "We weren't expecting that'' kind of praise, Cliff said. Organizers tried to take the best features from World Championship meets and replicate them at the Qwest Center, and they succeeded, Cliff said. Swimmers were pleased to have easy access to two 50-meter pools, one for warm-ups and one for competition, he said. They also praised the electronic scoreboard, a feature that allowed them to step to the starting blocks knowing what time they had to beat to make it into the finals. Amanda Beard, a three-time Olympian who swam in one final at the Swimvitational, the 100-meter breaststroke, said the Qwest Center is "arranged how swimming pools and swimming should be arranged. . . . It's a really cool pool.'' Some of the other features that earned high marks: the wide pool deck, the lighting, the close proximity of fans, the acoustics that made the cheers of even a few thousand sound electrifying, the volunteers. Mary Losee, general chairwoman of Midwestern Swimming, which coordinated the work of more than 700 volunteers during the Swimvitational, said a number of athletes commented on the friendliness of volunteers. "All the volunteers are wearing smiles,'' Losee recalled hearing again and again. The volunteers at the Swimvitational generally were from the Omaha area. When the Trials open, an additional 200 or more volunteers will be at the Qwest Center representing 27 different states. They will handle an array of services, including registration and credentials, deck control, hospitality and goodie bags, medical care and massage therapy, and lifeguarding. "We're just glad we had the opportunity to test everything,'' Losee said. "Now we can make the Trials an opportunity that swimmers won't forget.'' The test drive also proved helpful in identifying areas needing improvement. Mike Unger, USA Swimming's assistant executive director, said he had a list of about 80 things that people identified as needing "tweaking.'' None of the problems was major, and many were remedied within hours of being identified, he said.
Athletes, for example, said they wanted a clock in their warm-up area so they knew the time of day. Before the end of the Swimvitational, everyone knew the time of day, whether they were in the warm-up or competition pool. Organizers also observed the pattern of swimmers and coaches as they moved between the two pools and fan seating. They quickly shifted and added carpeted pathways to match the flow of traffic.Sam Kendricks, a longtime announcer at swimming events, said the Qwest Center enhances the experience for both swimmers and fans. At most swimming meets, the 100 or so people in attendance can barely make out what he is saying. On Saturday, when 5,100 people sat in the Qwest Center -- more than attended the 2000 World Championships in Athens -he and his fellow announcers clearly could be heard as they occasionally provided tutorials on the swimmers and their strategies. Some people in the crowd probably had never before been to a swimming meet, Kendricks said, but they could follow the announcers well enough to get involved with the races and the swimmers. "At Trials,'' he said, "(the fans) are going to explode.'' World-Herald staff writer Rich Kaipust contributed to this report.
