GEICO Sports Stars: Interview With Olympic Hopeful Tim Ware

By Joe Dyton



Tim Ware's participation in the United States Olympic Trials isn't so much about punching a ticket to Brazil this saummer. It's more about making a dream come true.

Ware, a coordinator in GEICO's marketing department, will swim in the 100 meter backstroke at the trials in Omaha on June 26. Ware has swum competitively at the club, high school and collegiate levels. He set numerous school and Colonial Athletic Conference records when he represented the University of Delaware and now sees the Olympic Trials as a chance to put an exclamation point on his swimming career.

"It's a pretty high-level competition for our sport, and it only comes around every four years," Ware says. "(It's a chance to) end my career on a high note, see the Olympic trial scene and see the Olympic team get decided firsthand. I thought it would be a pretty cool experience."

Ware qualified for the Olympic Trials last August when he finished the 100 meter backstroke in 57.03 seconds, good for 59th overall. He'd love to come close to his trial time when he hits the water in Omaha, but ultimately wants to be as competitive as possible in the field.

"I'm really just going for the experience and to see what I can do," Ware says. "I don't have expectations; I do have a time that I want to hit, but I kind of want to keep that to myself just because it's an internal motivator."

In order to qualify for the Olympics, Ware would have to finish in the top two (out of about 150 competitors) in his event. While making the team would be an amazing feat, Ware is just grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Olympic experience.

"If I could stay under the qualifying time, that would be great," he says. "If I could drop time that would be phenomenal, but if not, I'm just happy to be there. I'm excited to go and represent my friends, family, teammates, coaches and obviously GEICO now."

Best of luck, Tim!

Want more GEICO Sports Stars? Check out our behind-the-scenes interview with Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom.

Opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of WITI.