University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI swim & dive: Olivia Chambers competes in Para World Series
10/14/2022 12:30:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Panther swimmer claims two medals in first international competition
TIJUANA, Mexico --- UNI sophomore swimmer Olivia Chambers continued her path towards the Paralympics this past week, competing with the U.S. Paralympic Swimming National Team in the Citi Para Swimming World Series Mexico event in Tijuana.
"I've always dreamed of swimming for the USA, so competing in Tijuana was one of the best experiences ever," Chambers said. "I really enjoyed meeting the other members of the national team and loved the experience of competing against athletes who have gone through similar struggles as me."
Chambers, who is classified as legally blind under World Para Swimming's disability classifications and who has competed as an official para-athlete since April, took home a pair of medals after competing in three events at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento pool.
Chambers opened the meet posting a personal best time of 4:39.02 in the 400-meter freestyle preliminaries before dropping nearly three more seconds en route to a 2nd place finish in the finals. In the 100-meter backstroke, she notched a 1:12.97 preliminary time before taking 4th place in the finals with a time of 1:08.68. Chambers concluded the meet in the 100-meter butterfly with a preliminary round time of 1:07.87 and claimed a bronze medal in finals with a personal best time of 1:06.81.
"Olivia's commitment to constantly improving is evident daily in practice and those swims in Mexico are a reflection of that," Head Coach Nick Lakin said. "We all cheered her on from home, but to say the group was having fun watching her first international meet would be an understatement."Â
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Chambers, who looks to qualify for the U.S. Paralympic Team for the 2024 games in Paris, set a new Para American record in the S13 400-meter individual medley in August at the USA Swimming Futures Championships in Minneapolis. Her record breaking time of 5:21.68 broke the previous record held by three-time Paralympic gold medalist Rebecca Meyers.
A second year biology major, Chambers made an immediate impact for the Panthers prior to competing in Para meets, scoring in the 1650-yard freestyle and 400-yard individual medley at the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Championships last February.
Chambers returns to action Oct. 21-22 as the Panthers head to Chicago for the MVC Showcase, hosted by UIC. She will return to the national stage for Para Swimming competition at the U.S. Paralympic Swimming National Championships Dec. 16-18 in Charlotte, N.C.
Players Mentioned
