Between sessions of swimming trials, fans find a hot time on Georgia Street

Monday morning’s preliminary heats of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials at Lucas Oil Stadium dashed the Parisian dreams of more than a few competitors, but their supporters braved 90-degree conditions in the afternoon to check out USA Swimming Live attractions on Georgia Street.

Walter Mostek, father of Harvard University swimmer Anya Mostek, posed with his family at one of the photo backdrops installed on Georgia Street between Capitol Avenue and Pennsylvania Street.

Anya, the Ivy League record holder for fastest 100-meter backstroke, smiled broadly despite her 26th-place finish earlier in the day.

Walter said he was proud that his daughter made it to Indianapolis and said that Anya has two more years of college eligibility.

“We’ve gone through 15 years of swimming,” said Mostek, a Philadelphia resident who said it was a thrill to see Gretchen Walsh set a world record Saturday night in the 100-meter butterfly. “I was educating someone sitting next to me, who just came on a lark to watch trials because his daughter said, ‘Oh, this would be fun to do.’”

Mostek, an employee of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, complimented Indianapolis as a site for the trials.

“Compared to Philadelphia, the traffic is fantastic,” he said. “The amenities are great.”

The Mosteks planned to escape the high outdoor temperatures by visiting St. Elmo Steak House for dinner.

If there’s a life hack to share from USA Swimming Live, it would be difficult to beat the suggestion to grab a stool at the “swim-up bar” between Illinois and Meridian streets. Although a swimming pool is merely implied, the beverage station’s shade and a breeze provided a cool spot on a hot afternoon.

Idaho resident Debbie Carpenter, in town to root for her nephew, six-time world junior championship gold medalist Maximus Williamson, spent a few minutes at the swim up-bar.

“He did not have the greatest of days on Sunday, but he still has two more events,” Carpenter said to recap Williamson’s trials. “We’re looking forward to cheering him on.”

Carpenter described the action inside Lucas Oil Stadium as a “positive sporting environment.”

“I love how everyone watching is cheering on all competitors, regardless of how they end up being ranked,” she said.

Carpenter said she purchased tickets in the stadium’s 200-seating level a few months ago.

“We want to be able to harass [Williamson] if he ever looks up to see us,” she said.

Inside the Indiana Convention Center on Monday afternoon, young fans were hands-on participants at the Toyota Aqua Zone—where activities included curling (a Winter Olympics gate-crasher), basketball and a ball pit filled with light-blue spheres to more or less simulate a swimming pool.

Claire Lehman, a 9-year-old from Berne, Indiana, posed on a replica medal stand with her father, Andy Lehman.

Claire, a backstroke specialist, said she enjoyed watching Monday’s morning session at the stadium.

“This is basically in our back yard,” said Andy Lehman, who coaches a summer recreation swimming team. “To be able to see some of the top swimmers in the country right here close to us was a great opportunity.”

Tickets to preliminary races and heats, which run in the mornings and early afternoon, start at $15 per seat for the 600 level. Evening races have tickets starting at $35. The trials conclude on Sunday. For more information, visit usaswimming.org.