Triple Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Rice has secured her spot at the London Games, becoming the first Australian swimmer to qualify when she won the 400-meter individual medley at the selection trials on Thursday.
Rice won in 4 minutes, 33.45 seconds. She wiped 12 seconds off her time from the heats in the morning session and was eight seconds inside the Olympic A standard qualifying time.
The 23-year-old Rice waited for her time to flash up on the scoreboard before celebrating by blowing kisses to the crowd.
“It’s the biggest relief, the biggest weight lifted off my shoulders,” Rice said. “To be able to say now, ‘I’m going to London,’ is such a huge relief.”
