His finishing time wasn’t a best, but the overall experience was unmatched for Eli Martin at the recent men’s U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis.
The 2024 Washington-Liberty High graduate and four-year standout for the school’s boys swim team competed in one heat (200 breaststroke) at the trials against mostly faster, older and more experienced participants. Martin said his time of 2:14.94 was “decent,” placing him 37th, but not fast enough to advance.
“I had a great time and I got some valuable experience out of it,” Martin said.
His personal best time at that distance is 2:14.50. He qualified for the trials only two weeks earlier.
“I had a great time and I got some valuable experience out of it,” Martin said.
For the remainder of the summer, Martin will continue to compete for the Arlington Forest Tigers swim team of the Northern Virginia Swimming League and regularly train with the Arlington Aquatic Club. He wore an Arlington Aquatic Club swim cap during his race at the Olympic Trials.
After that, Martin will begin his college swimming career at Virginia Tech.
Martin currently holds six individual records for Arlington Forest and is part of as many relay bests. Three of his individual marks are in the 15-18 age group in the back and breaststrokes and the 100 individual medley.
He won two races in a season-opening June 15 meet for the Tigers, then had a first and second in June 22 action, only a couple of days after returning from the Olympic Trials.
At Washington-Liberty, Martin holds three individual team records, the 500 freestyle, the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke.
This past winter season for W-L, Martin won a Class 6 boys state championship in the 100 breast and was second in the IM.
