Hali Flickinger advances to semifinal in Olympic debut
FILE PHOTO: Hali Flickinger swims in the women’s 200-meter butterfly final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Thursday, June 30, 2016, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
(Undated) – Spring Grove native Hali Flickinger dazzled in her Olympic debut, posting the second-fastest qualifying time in the 200-meter butterfly to advance to the semifinals.
Flickinger finished second in her heat in 2:06.67, the same time as fellow American Cammile Adams, who won her heat.
Flickinger pulled out to third place after the first lap and moved into second at the end of the second. She made a strong charge in the third lap to go out front and let for much of the final lap before Spain’s Mireia Belmonte just barely edged her at the wall. Belmonte won the heat by .03 seconds.
It was a remarkable performance by Flickinger, who entered the event with the 13th fastest qualifying time.
She easily advanced to tonight’s semifinals, set for 9:37 p.m. The top 16 swimmers will compete in the semis. And the top eight semifinalists advance to Wednesday night’s primetime final.
This story is part of a partnership between WITF and the York Daily Record.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
