Former WKU swimmer Donahue earns spot in World Championships
Published 2:30 am Saturday, June 29, 2013
Olympic gold medalist Claire Donahue, a former Western Kentucky University swimmer, confirmed her slot on the U.S. roster for the 2013 FINA World Championships after coming in second Thursday night in the 100 butterfly at the Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis.
Donahue finished the event in 58.32 behind Dana Vollmer’s 57.53. The top two finishers in the 100 fly advanced to the World Championships July 28-Aug. 4 in Barcelona, Spain. The Lenoir City, Tenn., native led Vollmer at the halfway turn by 0.09 seconds, but Vollmer pulled ahead in the back half to record the third-fastest time in the world this year.
Donahue became the second WKU Olympic athlete to earn a medal at the Summer Olympics and the first to claim a gold medal, as she swam in the butterfly leg of the preliminary heats of the 4×100 medley relay in London to help guide Team USA to the finals. A four-year letter winner with WKU swimming, Donahue currently holds five different records at WKU, including two individual records in the 100 and 200 butterfly.