TOKYO – Former Penn State swimmer Melissa Rodriguez (2016 graduate) competed in the prelims of the 200 Breaststroke Wednesday morning at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Rodriguez, representing Mexico, posted a time of 2:26.87 to place 24th in the prelims. She finished fourth in her heat. Despite a solid performance, Rodriguez did not advance to the semifinals.
In her first Olympic Games, Rodriguez also competed in Tokyo in the 100 Breaststroke. She recorded a time of 1:08.76 in the prelims to place 30th overall and sixth in her heat.
The Mexican national record holder in the long-course 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke, Rodriguez competed in the NCAA Championships all four years of her career as a Nittany Lion and earned honorable-mention All-America honors.
Rodriguez set Penn State's 200 breaststroke record (2:07.80) with her 11th-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships, cutting nearly four seconds off the previous best mark. Her 100 breaststroke time is fourth all-time on the Nittany Lion list and she swam the breaststroke leg of the 400 medley relay team that held the program record from 2014-20.
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