Going for Gold

Cal State East Bay Assistant Swim Coach and graduate student, Claire Beaty, 23, is headed to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska this June. 

The trials gather the greatest swimmers across the country to compete for a spot on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team. Fourteen hundred swimmers are expected to participate in this year’s eight-day competition, but only the top two contenders of each of the 14 swim events will earn a chance to compete in Tokyo. 

After completing the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:31.75 late last year, Beaty qualified to participate in the same event for the trials, where she’ll be facing off against 100-120 other swimmers from around the country. 

Beaty has been competitively swimming since she was 9-years-old, training year-round. Swimming has always felt like a second home, and that has never been more needed than in recent years as she’s navigated tragic losses. 

In her senior year of high school, Beaty’s father died, and not long after, while she was studying at Cal State East Bay, her mother died as well. During these tough times, Beaty said she found comfort in her second family, the swim team. 

“My teammates are a group of like-minded athletes who will be there for you no matter the issue,” she said. “They have seen me at my worst and at my best. They want only the best for me, just as much as I want the best for them.”

In addition to the 200 breaststroke, Beaty is working on qualifying for a second event in the Olympic Trials, the 100 breaststroke, and has just under five months to fulfill that goal. During that time, she’s continuing training with Cal State East Bay head swim coach, Shane Pelton, swimming six days a week for about an hour and a half each day.

The 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials will take place in Omaha, Nebraska June 21-28, and more information is available at https://www.usaswimming.org.