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The Indiana Daily Student

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19-year-old Schmuhl gains valuable experience on international stage

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A lack of international swimming experience has factored little in the competitive nature of one IU swimmer.

Sophomore Steve Schmuhl posted a top-15 finish in the 400-meter individual medley during finals week at the 2012 FINA World Short Course Championships in Istanbul.

“I roomed with Garrett Weber-Gale, who was part of the famous 400 free relay in Beijing,” Schmuhl said. “It was a little daunting at first, especially since a lot of the guys were in their late twenties and I am still a teenager, but it was an awesome environment.”

As the third-youngest top-15 finisher, Schmuhl narrowly missed a chance to perform in the championship final. With his 12th-place finish and a time of 4:10.38, the Hoosier swimmer was less than two seconds greater than the cutoff.

The turnover from studying and taking final exams to flying the more than 5,500 miles to Istanbul proved to be stressful for Schmuhl, who had to take three finals the day before he left for the competition.

“I basically became a hermit in the weeks leading up to my departure,” Schmuhl said. “I had to take one final when I got back, but I ended up doing very well on the semester and got a 3.1 GPA.”

Despite the duress of finals and age gap between Schmuhl and the other competitors, the international experience is another successful race under Schmuhl’s belt.

“He needs to continue to get experiences like that and to remain consistent and take the success that he attained in Turkey and use it as a springboard instead of something that will set him back,” IU Coach Ray Looze said.

Along with qualifying for the U.S. Short Course Championship team at the U.S. Open in August, the Broomfield, Colo., native also placed 11th in the 400 individual medley at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Schmuhl’s time at the Short Course World Championships was about eight seconds faster than his time at the U.S. Open, which was 4:18.74.

“I know there are still some technical things in my breaststroke to work out before Big Tens and NCAAs, but I’m confident that I can get those kinks all smoothed out before championship season,” Schmuhl said.

In his freshman year at IU, Schmuhl competed at the NCAA Championships in the 400 individual medley relay with a time of 3:11.07 and a 13th place finish, which earned him All-American honors.

“The most important thing is what he does on a daily basis to perform at a consistent level,” Looze said. “Getting consistency and sticking with it is what he needs to continue to work on.”

Schmuhl is not the only Hoosier representing the IU swimming and diving program overseas, as senior Jim Barbiere is also preparing to compete in an international event.

Barbiere was named one of the 39 members of Team USA, which will participate in the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia. The swimming competition is scheduled for July 10-16.

For his fifth-place finish at the U.S. Open in the 200 freestyle, Barbiere earned a spot on Team USA as a member of the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Schmuhl, Barbiere and the rest of the Hoosier men will take on Ohio State and Iowa at 11 a.m. Jan. 19 in a home double-dual meet.

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