Highlands grad has no regrets, plenty of good memories from U.S. Olympic swim trials

Bailey Bonnett left the U.S. Olympic swimming trials a couple weeks ago knowing she gave everything she had.

The belief that she left everything in the pool and being around her Kentucky teammates made her second trip to the Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb., an enjoyable experience despite coming within fractions of a second of reaching her first Olympic semifinal.

Bonnett, a Highlands grad, placed 17th in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:30.44) and was .012 seconds away from locking into the top 16 and qualifying for one of the semifinal heats.

“It was one of my goals to (make a semifinal), but I gave the best that I could in that moment,” Bonnett said. “It was a little bit disappointing, obviously, but I gave 100% effort. I didn’t quite reach my goal, but I’m still happy to be where I am. I enjoyed cheering on my teammates and being there for all of them. It is a really amazing meet. I focused more on the fun I was having and experiences with my teammates.”

Bonnett also competed in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 and 400 individual medley.

She participated in the Wave II qualifying round for each event.

Bonnett’s first trip to Olympic trials was in 2016 when she was a self-described shy 16-year-old who kept to herself for the majority of the meet aside from talking to her coach and family.

This time she went with a large group of teammates from Kentucky and enjoyed that environment.

“We just had a lot of fun together,” Bonnett said. “This time I felt was a lot more enjoyable, and I had a lot more confidence from just having my teammates with me.”

No one from Kentucky made the U.S. swim team, but the Wildcats made their mark this year by winning their first SEC championship. They went on to place 11th at the NCAA championships.

Bonnett is a captain for the Wildcats. Winning the SEC championship was a goal four years in the making for her and her teammates.

“We talked about that my freshman year and what we needed to do to get there,” Bonnett said. “We felt like we were overlooked by other teams, but we knew we could win it if we did it as a team. One thing that is pretty unique about our team is that we don’t have any superstars or Olympic athletes, but we knew we all had to go in and score points. We couldn’t rely on one person to carry the entire team. We had to go in there and do it together.”

Bonnett is taking a fifth-year option at Kentucky after the 2020 season was interrupted and eventually canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic. She doesn’t plan on trying to qualify for the Olympics again and expects next year to be her last in competitive swimming.

“I’m excited about getting another opportunity to be with this team,” Bonnett said. “My attitude is about enjoying every moment and being where my feet are. I’m happy with myself and what I’ve accomplished, so most likely when I’m done with NCAAs next March, I’ll be done with swimming.

“I’ll miss it, but I’ve been doing it for so long, so it will be nice to take the next step in my life and go to grad school somewhere to start the next thing.”