Akron native Jonny Marshall qualifies for 2024 Summer Olympics as a Great Britain swimmer
Akron native Jonny Marshall is headed to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Marshall qualified for the Great Britain Olympic Swim Team in the 100-meter backstroke while competing in the British Olympic Trials in London earlier this month. He finished second in the event in a time of 53.47 seconds on April 3 and also was third in the 200-meter backstroke in 1:58.93 on April 7.
"This is awesome," Marshall, a member of the University of Florida swim team, said by phone Tuesday. "Once I got here [to Gainesville, Florida], I kind of knew it was possible. Once I started training with a lot of Olympians and looking up at the wall everyday and seeing the Olympic rings with all the different Gators that have been gold, silver and bronze medalists, along with training with guys that are gold medalists and bronze medalists.
"Once I came in, I thought, 'Oh, yeah, this is very doable because I definitely have the tools I need to accomplish this goal.'"
He has trained with standout American swimmers Caeleb Dressel, Kieran Smith, Bobby Finke and Katie Ledecky during his time in college. Dressel, Smith and Finke were college standouts at Florida and Ledecky was a star at Stanford. Dressel, Finke and Ledecky have won Olympic gold medals.
Marshall is a dual-nationality citizen who is eligible to compete for Great Britain in the Olympics because his mother, Louise, is British. His father, Steve, is American.
Marshall is being coached by Anthony Nesty, a legendary swimmer and coach at Florida who won a gold medal as a Suriname swimmer in 1988. Nesty is set to be the swim coach for the United States Olympic Team in Paris.
"He is a very intelligent coach and I trust him a ton," Marshall said of Nesty. "He has a great sense for the sport. He has been doing this for so long and is so successful."
Marshall, who is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, finished his freshman season at Florida with two All-America performances in the NCAA national championship meet last month at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. He placed fourth in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:37.04 on March 30 and eighth in the 100-yard backstroke in 44.86 on March 29.
"This is pretty darn exciting," Firestone coach Cindy Dial said. "Jonny has always put himself out there to do great things, starting with his high school career and being a state champion. He is well on his way on his path to being an NCAA champion and now qualifying for an Olympic team. It is kind of the big three and he has truly set himself apart from everybody else. He is not afraid to do hard things. He has shown that time and time again.
"... This is great for Akron Public Schools and Firestone swimming."
Marshall won three SEC championships in February, placing first in the 100 backstroke (44.12), 200 backstroke (1:36.68) and 400 medley relay (3:00.49). He set pool records at Auburn's James E. Martin Aquatic Center in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, and his time in the 200 backstroke is an SEC championship meet record and a Florida school record.
The previous Firestone graduates to compete in the pool in an Olympics were gold medalist swimmer Mark Gangloff and gold medalist diver Phil Boggs. Gangloff was a college standout at Auburn and Boggs was a college star at Florida State. Boggs started his high school career at Buchtel.
"I am just so proud of Jonny for taking on this huge task," Dial said. "He knew what he was in for. He was prepared for it. ... The hard work does pay off, and when you have those people to train with and those people to push you down there in Florida, great things can happen."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron's Jonny Marshall qualifies for Great Britain Olympic Swim Team
