2 more Gophers on their way to Tokyo Olympics

KSTP
[University of Minnesota Gophers Athletics]

The University of Minnesota announced on Friday that two more Gophers made it into the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.

The university athletics department said alumna Kierra Smith and sophomore James Freeman are set to represent their respective home countries of Canada and Botswana later this summer.

Smith will be competing in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, while Freeman will be taking on the men’s 200m and 400m freestyle.

They will be joining alum Bowe Becker.

Tokyo will be Smith’s second Olympics, having competed in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, according to the university’s athletics department. There, she earned the title of Olympic finalist in the 200m breast, an event she would ultimately finish seventh overall in. Smith also competed in the 100m breast in Rio, finishing 19th overall.

Smith’s upcoming appearance will mark the fourth straight games in which a female Gopher has competed, and the eighth straight for any Minnesota swimmer or diver.

Freeman will be making his Olympic debut. He registered some of his best finishes at the South African National Aquatic Championships, tallying eight top-six finishes since 2018 over two years.

In that same span, Freeman has set 12 national Botswanan records. He currently holds every individual freestyle, butterfly and medley record for his home country, and swam the anchor leg of the record-setting 4×100 freestyle relay at the CANA ZONE IV Championships, stated the university’s athletics department.

Alongside Becker, Freeman becomes the 18th male Gopher to make an Olympic roster and the 12th since 2000.

The Tokyo Games will be held from July 23 to Aug. 8, with every swimming event taking place from July 24 – Aug 1. All swimming events will be competed in the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.