March 12, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion swimmer Arni Mar Arnason (Msfellsbaer, Iceland) has officially been invited to compete at the NCAA Championships to be held March 19th -21st at Texas A&M University. Arnason, who won three titles at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championships last month, will compete in the 50 Free, 100 Breast, and 200 Breast.
During the CAA Championships at George Mason, Arnason helped set seven new Old Dominion records, including his NCAA events - the 50 Free (19.85), 100 breast (53.48), 200 Breast (1:58.37). Arnason's 200 breast time was also a CAA record as he became the first ever Monarch to crack under two minutes. He was also a member of the 200 medley relay (1:30.36), 200 free relay (1:21.21), 400 medley relay (3:17.75), and 400 free relay (3:00.47) teams that set all new ODU top times.
Arnason joined the Monarchs this fall after competing at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing this summer, swimming for his native Iceland. He swam the 50 free at the games, an event that he holds the Icelandic record in with a time of 22.81. An Icelandic champion multiple times throughout his career, Arnason won the Nordic Junior Championships in the 100 breast in 2005 and also competed at the European Junior Championships.
For more information on the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, log onto NCAASports.Com and the official 2009 Swimming And Diving Championships webpage.