UNI swimming: Olivia Chambers named MVC Swimmer of the Week
12/21/2022 11:15:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Panther sophomore earns first MVC honor after winning two gold medals at U.S. Paralympic National Championships.
ST. LOUIS --- UNI sophomore Olivia Chambers has been named the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Swimmer of the Week, as announced by the league office on Wednesday morning. The selection is the first weekly conference honor of her career.
The honor comes after Chambers became UNI's first-ever para-swimming national champion last weekend as the Little Rock, Ark. native picked up a pair of gold medal finishes and another bronze medal at the U.S. Paralympic National Championships at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center. Chambers was also named the Swimmer of the Meet by virtue of having the best overall point total among competing athletes.
Chambers, who is classified as legally blind under World Para Swimming's disability classifications as an S13 athlete, began the weekend with a first place finish in the 400-meter freestyle on Friday in a time of 4:34.30, shaving 2.08 seconds off her career-best time, narrowly edging out four-time Paralympic gold medalist McKenzie Coan. She also took third place in the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 1:08.19, setting another career-best time.
In Saturday's competition, Chambers took fourth place in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:08.69, as well as fifth place in the 50-meter freestyle in 28.58.
In her final event on Sunday, Chambers won the 200-meter individual medley, first posting a 2:30.77 time in the preliminary heats before dropping another 1.59 seconds to take home gold, beating out three-time Paralympic champion and five-time medalist Elizabeth Marks.
The U.S. Paralympic National Championships were the second major national meet for the Little Rock, Ark. native, who seeks to qualify for a spot on Team USA for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.Â
Olivia is the daughter of Alison and Brad Chambers, and sister of Mason and Emerson. She is currently majoring in biology at UNI.
Chambers returns to action Jan. 13-14 as the Panthers host the Illinois State Redbirds in a two-day dual. Competition is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. CT on Jan. 13, and again at 11 a.m. CT on Jan. 14.
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