TOKYO – Former Penn State swimmer Melissa Rodriguez (2016 graduate) competed in the prelims of the 100 Breaststroke Sunday morning to open her competition schedule at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Making her Olympic Games debut, Rodriguez, representing Mexico, earned a time of 1:08.76 to place 30th in the prelims. She finished sixth in her heat. The top 16 finishers moved onto Sunday night's semifinals.
Rodriguez will also compete in Tokyo in the 200 Breaststroke. The prelims are set for Wednesday at 6:40 a.m. with the semifinals that night at 10:50 p.m. The final will take place on Thursday at 9:40 p.m.
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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Melissa Rodriguez Competition Schedule
200 Breaststroke –
Wednesday, 7/28 – 6:40 am ET prelim/10:50 pm ET semifinals
Thursday, 7/29 – 9:40 pm ET final
