MINNEAPOLIS – From Thursday, June 27 to Saturday, June 29, Augusta native Owen McNear represented the Garden City on the national scale as he competed for a spot on the 2024 U.S. Paralympic swimming team in Minneapolis.
The three-day trials took place in the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, where swimmers from a variety of states and disability classes fought for one of the 33 spots on the U.S. team.
McNear swam in 12 total events over the three days of competition, six in the preliminary rounds and six in the finals of each day. These events included the men’s 100-meter backstroke on Thursday, June 26; the men’s 400-meter freestyle and men’s 100-meter freestyle on Friday, June 27; and the men’s 100-meter butterfly, men’s 200-meter individual medley, and men’s 50-meter freestyle. He swam each of these events under the S9 classification of Paralympic swimming, a classification typically denoted by a swimmer’s severe weakness in or amputation of one leg.
After three days of intense competition, McNear ended up coming short of making the cut for the U.S. team. However, he’ll be back in the pool soon as he prepares to swim for the University of Georgia beginning this fall.
Felix Scheyer, a 2022 graduate of the Academy of Richmond County, is a student at the University of Georgia. He attended the Paralympic Trials and will be covering the Paralympics in Paris for the Associated Press.
