OMAHA, NE - Rogersville's J.P. Arnold will make his second bid at making the 2008 U.S. Olympic swim team starting Saturday when the 1500 Meter Freestyle preliminaries begin at the Qwest Center.

Arnold's first effort at making this year's Olympic squad fell short Sunday when he finished 23rd overall in the 400 Meter Freestyle.  Swimming in the fifth heat, lane two, Arnold backed up his time trial qualifying time of 3:55.55.  He was second in his heat, behind Logan Storie, who's time was 3:53.98.  Storie was 12th overall and failed to reach the finals, which only accepted the top eight swimmers. 

There were 70 swimmers in the nine heats attempting to make the Olympic team in the 400 Freestyle, though three did not start for various reasons.  Larsen Jenson won the finals and earned a place on the U.S. team that will compete in Beijing next month.  In the finals he swam a 3:43.53, .23 seconds ahead of second place finishing Peter Vanderkaay. 

Vanderkaay was the top swimmer in the prelims with a time of 3:48.06.  Jensen was third fastest with a 3:48.28. 

The 1500 Meter Freestyle is Arnold's best event.  His best time in the 1500 Meter Freestyle ranks 64th among the 81 swimmers who qualified for the trails.  The top time of 14:46.78 belongs to Erik Vendt, who finished third overall in the 400 Meter.

Check back here later this weekend to see how Arnold's bid to make the Olympic squad turns out.