Olympian Zach Harting- “So Close, But So Far Away”
TOKYO, JAPAN- For Zach Harting the old saying of “so close, but so far away” came forward in his participating in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The former Bob Jones swimmer missed making the finals of the 200-meter butterfly swim event by a mere 4/100 of a second.
The 23-year old Harting finished ninth in the semi-finals failing to make the top eight for the finals of the grueling butterfly stroke. He reached for the finish wall and recorded a time of 1-minute, 55.35-seconds. His time was just behind Japan’s Tomoru Honda who finished at 1:55.31. Harting’s USA teammate Gunnar Bentz was sixth (1:55.28) while the fastest time was from Kristof Milar of Hungary (1:52.22).
The 200 butterfly has been dominated by Olympic star Michael Phelps for the last 20-plus years and the 23-year old Harting is part of the new faces for the U.S. Olympic Team. He was the top seed in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials and used a late surge to win the race with a time of 1:55.06, less than three-tenths of a second ahead of runner-up Gunnar Bentz at the event held in Omaha, Neb.
Harting’s dream has always been to wear the colors of the U.S. in the Olympics. He began swimming at age seven at Dublin Memorial Park with the Madison Dolphins and moved to the Huntsville Swim Association as his talents progressed. For Bob Jones, he won two state championships as a junior, but chose not to swim for the Patriots as a senior, but instead decided to swim for the HSA exclusively.
Known as a free-spirit, Harting once wore a Batman costume complete with a cape upon his introduction at a race in Orlando, Fla. He loves to play the guitar and board games for relaxation. One additional little-known fact about the former Patriot- he was a diver for the swim team as a freshman.
Upon graduating from Bob Jones as the state’s No. 1 swim prospect he signed to swim for Louisville after considering other colleges to attend. He earned All-Conference honors and was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and also earned his Masters at Louisville where he currently calls home.
Many of Harting’s fans back home in Madison took to social media to express how very proud they are of him. “We are so proud of you Zach! You will always be an Olympian and a swimming superhero to so many! Looking forward to when you come back to visit, so we can celebrate and honor you!” stated a post from the Bob Jones swim and dive team.
