Local Olympic Hopeful Kevin Steel Misses Cut at Swimming Trials

Moorestown's Kevin Steel fell short of his Olympic dreams Monday at the swimming trials in Omaha, NE, with a 40th place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke. 

Steel's time of 1:03.28 was slightly better than his 1:03.8 time at the recent 2012 Mutual of Omaha Swimvitational, which qualified him for the trials. But his time in Omaha—nearly 3 seconds behind the first place finisher—wasn't good enough to earn him a spot on the Olympic team.

Steel—a 2010 graduate and a rising junior at the University of Arizona—is no stranger to competition or to breaking records. South Jersey’s Swimmer of the Year in 2010, Steel amassed several local records before diving into the pool as an Arizona Wildcat.

“It would be life-changing, absolutely. It’s something that swimmers fantasize about their entire lives," Steel told the Moorestown Sun recently, speaking about his shot at Olympic glory. "You see people in tears on the podium when they’re listening to the national anthem at the medal ceremony. You want that for yourself.”

Check out more of Steel’s accomplishments at his University of Arizona profile page.