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07/08/2016 12:00 AMCorey Gambardella recently experienced the opportunity of a lifetime when he competed on swimming’s biggest stage at the national level. On June 28, Gambardella, who will be a senior at Guilford High School this fall, swam in the preliminary heat for the 200-meter butterfly at the United States Olympic Team Trials in Men’s Swimming in Omaha, Nebraska. Although Gambardella wasn’t able to seal a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics, he posted a time of 2:01.96 to take 47th place among 81 athletes.
“It’s crazy because you sit in a room before where you are really disconnected from everything before they call your heat to the deck. When you go out there, the light switch goes on and you go out to the stadium with 14,000-plus people cheering,” Gambardella said. “It was overwhelming, but I spent six months preparing for it, and then my instincts as an athlete took over.”
Gambardella, who also swims with the Soundview YMCA Stingrays in Branford, said that he started strong out of the gates and than tapered off a bit at the trials. However, Gambardella was still pleased that his finish moved him up 24 spots from where he was seeded, while he competed among the nation’s elite in such an electric environment.
“I started the first 150 meters or so strong, but then I kind of just died out. I went from 71st to 47th and I didn’t have my best time, but I still think I did alright,” said Gambardella. “When you are sitting at the block, it’s just you waiting for the previous heat to finish and it’s just you and the pool. The atmosphere there really helped me get focused for the run.”
Gambardella had qualified for the Olympic Trials by virtue of an excellent performance at the Arena Pro Swim Series on the campus of the University of Texas in January. Gambardella recorded a personal-best mark of 2:01.52 in the B final of the 200 butterfly that earned him his bid in the trials by less than half a second. Gambardella also swam a personal-best time of 54.97 in the 100 butterfly and came up just 0.18 seconds shy of making the trials in that event.
“I remember in January when I went to Texas to qualify. But it all didn’t hit me until I went on the plane to go to the trials. I was like, ‘Wow! I’m competing with the best of the best!’” said Gambardella. “It also takes the fan experience away from you. They are your competition. You aren’t worshiping them now.”
Gambardella’s coach on the Stingrays, Wesley Crozier, worked alongside Gambardella for the past several months to help him prepare for his shot at Olympic glory. Crozier felt thrilled to simply see Gambardella hit the water at the trials given the sacrifices that his athlete has made.
“It was great. We set a goal for him to get to Austin, Texas in January when the season started. He was consistent with practicing. We established certain criteria for him to meet to be able to get there with hitting certain meter times, turn times, etc. We had everything in place to have a good meet in Austin. For him to make the trials was incredible to see and a great highlight of his swimming career,” said Crozier. “The path to get there was also great. After his high school swimming season, we got right back to work on getting ready for trials. The trials had a great atmosphere. The goal was to make the top 16, but he had a really good swim. For 17-and-under swimmers, he was seeded 10th going in and finished fourth.”
In reflecting upon the experience, Gambardella said that he was more honed in on the task at hand at the time, but has since gained a greater appreciation of being surrounded by the greats of his sport at the Olympic Trials. Looking ahead, Gambardella knows that the window for competing internationally is still wide open and he also wants to make a splash in an NCAA pool when his time in high school is finished.
“Before the actual event, I didn’t appreciate it as much because I was focused on the actual swim and got nervous. I took it in afterwards, though, and it was crazy. I wasn’t one of the top guys, but just to be in there with those guys was incredible,” said Gambardella. “I would also like to swim Division I in college. I’m hoping to get to under two minutes for a spot on the U.S. Junior National Team and compete internationally with those 18 and under.”
Gambardella also competes for the Branford-Guilford boys’ swimming and diving squad during the high school season. As a junior last winter, Gambardella finished first for the 200-yard individual medley and 500 freestyle at the SCC Championship. Gambardella finished at 1:56.14 in the IM and swam a time of 4:34.23 in the 500 freestyle to prevail in both events. At the subsequent Class LL State Championship meet, Gambardella placed second in the 100 butterfly and took third in the 200 freestyle. Gambardella recorded a personal-best time of 49.78 seconds for the butterfly and set another personal best by placing third in the 200 free at 1:41.99. Then at the State Open, Gambardella was again runner-up in the butterfly at 49.03 and he also finished fourth in the 200 free in 1:40.63. In his sophomore year, Gambardella took first place in the 100 butterfly at the SCC Championship with a mark of 51.86. He earned All-SCC, All-State, and New Haven Register All-Area honors for both his sophomore and junior seasons.