Cramer seeks spot on Olympic swim team
By ROBIN FAMBROUGH
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Jun 27, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.
Comments (0)
> > > >
>
Jayme Cramer hopes his third trip to the United States Olympic Team Trials for swimming will be the charm.
The former Stanford University All-American won’t be banking on any good luck charms during the week-long meet that begins Sunday in Omaha, Neb.
“My goal is to finish in the top two in an event and qualify individually,” Cramer said. “A lot has changed since I was a high school kid competing in the Trials. I’ve changed. I think I’m ready.”
The 25-year-old who will represent Crawfish Aquatics is seeded in the top 12 of three events — the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly.
Most ex-college swimmers choose to hone their skills at clubs affiliated with their college teams. Cramer, the husband of former LSU soccer player and multi-sport Parkview Baptist standout Kate Ripple, breaks that mold by training locally with Crawfish Aquatics head coach Billy Newport.
“I’ve never been one of those guys who had to have a lot of fast people around me in order to get better,” Cramer said. “I’m able to motivate myself. A lot of times it will just be me in the water and Billy on deck. Sometimes, there are recreational swimmers in the other lanes. It’s worked out fine.
“I don’t know that anybody gets used to the heat in humidity you have from now until the fall, but I guess I’ve adapted. Louisiana is our home and this is where I wanted to train.”
In the 2000 Olympic Trials, as a high school student, he placed 12th in the 100 butterfly. In 2001, he was selected as the National High School Swimmer of the Year. He held a national age group record in the 100 backstroke.
At Stanford, Cramer earned multiple All-America honors and adjusted from being a butterfly-backstroke swimmer in high school to being more of a freestyle swimmer. He placed 10th in the 200 freestyle at the 2004 Trials.
Since then, Cramer, a Cincinnati native, has claimed gold medals in 2005 and 2007 as a member of the 800 freestyle relay team at the FINA World Championships.
Cramer’s work toward a 2008 Olympic team berth shows versatility. He is rated seventh on the pre-meet psych sheet in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 47.51 seconds. Cramer is 12th in the 100 free in 47.30 seconds and is fifth in the 100 butterfly in 52.78 seconds behind the likes of Ian Crocker (50.40) and Michael Phelps (50.77).
Competition for Cramer will begin Monday with the 200 freestyle, an event where the top six swimmers earn Olympic berths and are used in relays.
Cramer will compete in the 100 free on Wednesday and the 100 fly on July 4.
When asked about the possibility of making the U.S. squad as a relays swimmer, Cramer is adamant about his goal.
“If that’s the way I make the team, then so be it,” Cramer said. “My goal is to place in the top two in an event and qualify that way.”
Cramer seeks spot on Olympic swim team
By ROBIN FAMBROUGH
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Jun 27, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.
Comments (0)
> > > >
>
Jayme Cramer hopes his third trip to the United States Olympic Team Trials for swimming will be the charm.
The former Stanford University All-American won’t be banking on any good luck charms during the week-long meet that begins Sunday in Omaha, Neb.
“My goal is to finish in the top two in an event and qualify individually,” Cramer said. “A lot has changed since I was a high school kid competing in the Trials. I’ve changed. I think I’m ready.”
The 25-year-old who will represent Crawfish Aquatics is seeded in the top 12 of three events — the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly.
Most ex-college swimmers choose to hone their skills at clubs affiliated with their college teams. Cramer, the husband of former LSU soccer player and multi-sport Parkview Baptist standout Kate Ripple, breaks that mold by training locally with Crawfish Aquatics head coach Billy Newport.
“I’ve never been one of those guys who had to have a lot of fast people around me in order to get better,” Cramer said. “I’m able to motivate myself. A lot of times it will just be me in the water and Billy on deck. Sometimes, there are recreational swimmers in the other lanes. It’s worked out fine.
“I don’t know that anybody gets used to the heat in humidity you have from now until the fall, but I guess I’ve adapted. Louisiana is our home and this is where I wanted to train.”
In the 2000 Olympic Trials, as a high school student, he placed 12th in the 100 butterfly. In 2001, he was selected as the National High School Swimmer of the Year. He held a national age group record in the 100 backstroke.
At Stanford, Cramer earned multiple All-America honors and adjusted from being a butterfly-backstroke swimmer in high school to being more of a freestyle swimmer. He placed 10th in the 200 freestyle at the 2004 Trials.
Since then, Cramer, a Cincinnati native, has claimed gold medals in 2005 and 2007 as a member of the 800 freestyle relay team at the FINA World Championships.
Cramer’s work toward a 2008 Olympic team berth shows versatility. He is rated seventh on the pre-meet psych sheet in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 47.51 seconds. Cramer is 12th in the 100 free in 47.30 seconds and is fifth in the 100 butterfly in 52.78 seconds behind the likes of Ian Crocker (50.40) and Michael Phelps (50.77).
Competition for Cramer will begin Monday with the 200 freestyle, an event where the top six swimmers earn Olympic berths and are used in relays.
Cramer will compete in the 100 free on Wednesday and the 100 fly on July 4.
When asked about the possibility of making the U.S. squad as a relays swimmer, Cramer is adamant about his goal.
“If that’s the way I make the team, then so be it,” Cramer said. “My goal is to place in the top two in an event and qualify that way.”
