A Fresno State Bulldog will have the opportunity this spring to make the Olympics.
Freshman Ugne Mazutaityte of the Fresno State women’s swimming and diving team has been selected by the Lithuanian Swimming Federation to compete in the European Aquatics Championships, the athletic department announced Wednesday.
Mazutaityte, an international student-athlete from Lithuania, owns her home country’s 100- and 200-meter backstroke records. She has also set new Fresno State records in her first year with the program in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events with times of 54.04 and 1:55.47, respectively.
The event, which will take place May 9-22 at the London Aquatics Centre, brings together Europe’s best swimmers, divers and synchronized swimmers and gives them an opportunity to qualify for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “All I want is to make an Olympic cut. It would mean so much to me. I work so hard every day to get better, and it’s a good feeling to see that hard work paying off.”
If Mazutaityte makes the Olympic cut, she will be the first Bulldog to swim in the Olympic Games.
“Ugne’s only been training with us for a few months, and she’s already improved so much,” Fresno State head coach Jeanne Fleck said. “We know what she has needed to work on, and she’s been working on those things successfully. Usually it takes longer for a swimmer to execute the right steps, but she’s picked them up quickly.”
Mazutaityte will close out her first collegiate season at the Mountain West Championships (Feb. 16-20) before she starts training for the European event and working toward her Olympic dreams.
“The only person I have to race against is myself,” Mazutaityte said. “You have to go past your limits. Even when your mind is telling you to stop, you have to keep going, and it’s the best feeling in the world.”