(Courtesy of fgcuathletics.com)
Evita Leter Interview | Lani Cabrera Interview
RIO DE JANEIRO – The Coastal Collegiate Sports Association will have two representatives at the upcoming Rio Olympic Games. FGCU swimmers Evita Leter and Lani Cabrera are ready to begin competition from Aug. 6-13 at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
Leter prepares to make her Olympic debut with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for Friday and the swimming portion of the Games slated for Aug. 6-13 at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
Leter (Paramaribo, Suriname/Doral Academy) qualified for the Olympic Games as a Universality Place and will compete in the 100 breast, which runs Sunday, Aug. 7 and Monday, Aug. 8. The preliminary round will begin at 11:56 a.m. ET with the top-16 swimmers advancing to the semifinal round at 8:29 p.m. Sunday. The top-eight finishers from the semifinal will then advance to the final event at 8:54 p.m. Monday.
NBC will broadcast the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics on Friday, Aug. 5 on a one-hour delay beginning at 8 p.m. Additionally, each event can be seen on the NBCOlympics.com live stream. For a more detailed view of the daily competition schedule, click here.
"It's obviously an honor to represent your country at any international meet, but to do it at the Olympics – the highest platform – I'm over the moon happy about it," said Leter. "All of my family and friends are going to be watching, and I'm happy I get to experience that level of competition. It's everything I could ever dream of accomplishing in the sport."
As a Universality Place, Cabrera (Bridgetown, Barbados/St. Ursula's Secondary School) is allowed to compete in one event during the Games and will focus her attention on the 400 free, which takes place Sunday, Aug. 7. The preliminary event is scheduled for 12:33 p.m. ET, and the top-eight qualifiers will advance to the final event at 9:01 p.m. ET.
"I keep using the word surreal, but that's exactly how I feel," said Cabrera. "It's like everything I've ever worked for is actually happening. It's the definition of a dream come true. I want to continue to make not only myself proud, but also everyone else that's watching proud. I'm so thrilled and honored to have this. There are no words. I worked hard. I made it here. I deserve to be here and will do my best."
During the qualification period, Cabrera clocked the fastest times among Barbadian female swimmers in the 200 free (2:05.62) at the Southern Zone South Sectional Championship, 400 free (4:25.53) at the All-Florida Senior Circuit and 800 free (9:08.02) at the Arena Pro Swim Series. She recently capped off her qualification efforts at the Caribbean Island Swimming Championship, where she medaled in a pair of events with a runner-up finish in the 400 free and third-place finish in the 800 free.
