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Howard University swimmer Miles Simon made school history this week. On Monday, Miles Simon will became the second swimmer or diver in Howard University history to compete at the Olympic Trials.
"When I made it, I was ecstatic," Simon told 7News Sports about the moment he learned that he would compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
"I was jumping around the pool. I couldn't believe it."
Simon has impressed coaches and competitors since he stepped foot in the nation's capital. In his first season, he won 11 races and broke two school records.
"For a good while, it didn't really hit till probably recently, like a week or two ago, it was like, dang. I'm actually about to go do this," he explained.
Leading up to his debut at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Simon had received instruction from the best tutor possible. His coach, Nicholas Askew, was the first swimmer or diver in school history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
"Physically, I have been kind of resting. I have two swim meets before the trials, so I'm not resting, but I'm not training as hard because I'm about to go into a fast competitive meet," he said.
"Mentally, I just take time to collect and realize what I'm about to go do and take deep breaths and just focus on my race."
Simon made his way up to Omaha, Nebraska this week to compete in the 50-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials. While he did not make it past the preliminary stage, he did finish with a time of 23.42 seconds. At just 19 years old, Simon can now say he is the 61st fastest swimmer in the country. With three years left of college, Simon has a lot of room to grow in the sport and potentially represent the country in Paris, France at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
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