"It's hard not to feel that weight every single day," Teresa said Friday after finishing fourth, out of consideration for London, in her best event, the 200-meter butterfly. "I tried to put it behind me for this meet. But it's a weight I'll have to bear the rest of my life."
The rest of her life could start today. She was noncommittal Friday when asked if she would swim in the last event on her U.S. trials schedule, the 200-meter backstroke. Qualifying begins Saturday.
"We'll see," she said.
Olympic fans will see Haverford High graduate Brendan Hansen at the London Games, but only in one individual event. Hansen finished fourth Friday in the 200-meter breaststroke, repeating his 2008 trials result, which contributed to his decision to retire from swimming after the Beijing Games.
"I'm definitely disappointed," Hansen said Friday. "But I'm going back to the Olympics for another race."
Hansen, 30, returned to training in January 2011. He qualified for the 100-meter breaststroke earlier this week.
"It's tough as you get older to swim the 200 breaststroke three times [through preliminaries, semifinals and the final] and try and do it right," said Hansen, who won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200 at the 2004 Olympics. "The whole time during the race, I thought I was right on pace. I never looked at anybody. I just felt like I was right on and when I turned around at the 150, I was like, uh oh, been here before."
Crippen had been to the Olympic trials before, competing in three events in 2008. Her best result was seventh in the 200 backstroke.
"In 2008, I didn't swim with a smile," the Germantown Academy graduate said. "But at least I'm swimming with a smile now. This sport's given me a lot, and I'm just thankful for that."
Her parents and two older sisters were in the stands Friday, for what likely is the last Olympic swimming trials to include at least one Crippen sibling, a run that began more than a decade ago.
"I was really proud of her," said Maddy, the oldest of the siblings and a 2000 Olympian. "She left everything in pool and I'm so excited for what she has coming in they next phase of her life."
Teresa recently graduated from the University of Florida.
"If it wasn't for the University of Florida and [Germantown Academy coach] Dick Shoulberg and my family, I wouldn't have been in the pool the last two years anyway," she said. "So I'm just happy to come here."
