Congratulations to Alec Cullen '18, who is competing for a place on the 2021 USA Olympic team for swimming. A student at UC Santa Barbara, Alec spent the past weekend competing in the Olympic Trials Wave 1 in Omaha, NE, where he not only improved his times in both the Men's 100m and 200m Breaststroke, but he also won the Men's 200m Breaststroke finals!

On Saturday, Alec was seeded No. 72 in the Men's 100m Breaststroke and moved up to No. 21 with a career best time of 1:03:01. On Monday, he placed second during the trials for Men's 200m breaststroke earning him a spot in the finals. He closed out the night by winning the Men's 200m Breaststroke finals with one of the closest finishes in the entire meet. He out touched the second place finisher by .02 seconds to win the event with a career best time of 2:14:38!

"The race felt great! I stuck to my race plan going into it and knew I had enough in the tank to bring it back home," Alec said after the race. "The experience of being at this meet was truly unreal and a memory that I will cherish and remember forever. I also want to thank my coaches, teachers and Padre brothers that helped me and were with me along the way to get to this point. Go Padres!"

Alec now moves onto Wave 2 of the Olympic Trials, also in Omaha, NE, scheduled for June 13 to June 20, where he will compete against the top 40 swimmers in the country for a spot on the 2021 USA Olympic Team. Great work Alec, we are so proud to call you a Padre!