Area Swimmer Makes Olympic Trials

Conor Carlucci of New City will compete in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials starting next Monday in Omaha, Neb.

“Qualifying for Olympic Trials has been a goal of mine since my freshman year of high school. It’s a goal that I’ve worked towards in every practice since then,” he said. “For the meet to finally be here after all of the work that I put into it is exciting.”

Carlucci, who graduated from Brown University last year, first started in meets for the Condors in the Rockland County Summer Swim League at 6-years-old, but didn’t seriously start competing until his sophomore year of high school. His freshman year at Clarkstown South, he played lacrosse.

“With the completion of the pool at Felix Festa [Middle School] during my sophomore year of high school, it helped bring my swimming to the next level,” Carlucci said. “We are so fortunate to have a 50-meter pool – an Olympic sized pool, as opposed to a 25-yard pool in which high school and college meets are contested – right in our backyard. A home venue where we could train 50 meters and host the Section 1 championships was something our team took great pride in.”

At the event, Carlucci will compete in the 100-meter breaststroke, which he qualified for with a time of 1:04.67.

Carlucci now lives and works full-time in Manhattan, which makes practicing a bit difficult.

“I cannot put as much time into swimming as I did in high school and college. I typically swim after work at the New York Athletic Club, where I am a member of the swim team,” Carlucci said. “A typical practice consists of 2,000 to 3,000 yards of swimming, and depending on the day, biking or weight lifting. In college, and during my summers spent training at the University of Texas, mid-season training consisted of about 6,000 to 10,000 yards per day in addition to a rigorous weight-lifting and dry-land training schedule.”

While at Brown, Carlucci was named captain and MVP of the swim team his senior season, and he holds the school records in the 200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke. While at South he was an All-American in 100 breaststroke, Section 1 Swimmer of the Year in 2006 and a four-time MVP of the combined Clarkstown team.

“Swimming is an introspective sport. You spend so much time with your head underwater that it forces you to think. It breeds discipline and independence, which I think have served me so well in all other aspects of my life,” Carlucci said. “It’s also much more of a team sport than people give it credit for, working hard with the same group of people throughout a season builds tremendous bonds of friendship. I am so grateful for the group of friends that I made through my time at the Condors and in swimming four years at Brown.”

Do You Know A Local Olympian?

With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London starting July 27, Patch is looking for any local athletes participating in or that qualified for the games.

If you know of any, we’d love to speak with them and ask you to email us at HVDailySportsDigest@gmail.com.

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