Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at Hawaii on October 25, 2025 , Win , 134, to, 127
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at Hawaii
W 134-127
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Brunlehner earns Olympic spot
6/24/2024 3:45:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
GCU swimmer qualifed to compete for Kenya at next month's Paris Games
Maria Brunlehner's illustrious swimming career hit another level this week when she earned a spot in this summer's Olympics.
Brunlehner, who is from Mombasa, Kenya, will be the lone female Kenya swimmer at the Paris Games by virtue of Wolrd Aquaitics Universality system, which rewards points for a swimmer's best performance in international competition.
Brunlehner claimed the highest total after breaking her own national record in the 50-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships in Qatar, where she swam a time of 26.12 seconds in February to earn 738 points.Â
The race for the female spot came down to this weekend with fellow GCU swimmer Emily Muteti also in the group of four contenders vying to qualify at the Bahamas Aquatics' National Swimming Championships in Nassau.
Muteti paved the way by representing Kenya and GCU for the Tokyo Olympics, when then-Lopes swimmer Talita Te Flan also competed for Ivory Coast. Brunlehner becomes the fourth Olympian from GCU after Jade Howard was the first in 2016.
Brunlehner's 738 points stood up after the last weekend of qualifying competition, edging Imara Thorpe's 732, Sara Mose's 722 and Muteti's 721. Since the college season ended in February, Brunlehner and Muteti trained with Lopes head coach Steve Schaffer.
"We are very proud of Maria," Schaffer said. "Competing at the Olympics is what all swimmers dream of, and Maria has worked hard to make it. She is a talented athlete, and we are glad we have been able to help her along the way."
Brunlehner, the 2023 WAC Women's Swimmer of the Year, is coming off a GCU season in which she claimed three individual gold medals at the WAC Championships in February. She set GCU records in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke, also breaking the WAC record in the breaststroke. She claimed a third gold in the 200 individual medley and was a part of the Lopes' first-place finishes in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, giving her 15 WAC Championships gold medals in three years as a Lope.
Brunlehner will represent Kenya in Paris with Ridhwan Mohamed, the nation's male Universality qualifier.
"Maria and Ridhwan have worked incredibly hard to reach this point," Kenyan Aquatics Secretary General Collins Marigiri told MozzartSport. "We believe they will represent us admirably and inspire many young swimmers back here home."
Brunlehner's Olympic swimming competition will be Aug. 3 at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France. Starting July 9, Brunlehner will be part of a Kenyan training camp in Miramas, France, before moving to the Olympic Village in Paris on July 22.
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Brunlehner, who is from Mombasa, Kenya, will be the lone female Kenya swimmer at the Paris Games by virtue of Wolrd Aquaitics Universality system, which rewards points for a swimmer's best performance in international competition.Brunlehner claimed the highest total after breaking her own national record in the 50-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships in Qatar, where she swam a time of 26.12 seconds in February to earn 738 points.Â
The race for the female spot came down to this weekend with fellow GCU swimmer Emily Muteti also in the group of four contenders vying to qualify at the Bahamas Aquatics' National Swimming Championships in Nassau.
Muteti paved the way by representing Kenya and GCU for the Tokyo Olympics, when then-Lopes swimmer Talita Te Flan also competed for Ivory Coast. Brunlehner becomes the fourth Olympian from GCU after Jade Howard was the first in 2016.
Brunlehner's 738 points stood up after the last weekend of qualifying competition, edging Imara Thorpe's 732, Sara Mose's 722 and Muteti's 721. Since the college season ended in February, Brunlehner and Muteti trained with Lopes head coach Steve Schaffer.
"We are very proud of Maria," Schaffer said. "Competing at the Olympics is what all swimmers dream of, and Maria has worked hard to make it. She is a talented athlete, and we are glad we have been able to help her along the way."
Brunlehner, the 2023 WAC Women's Swimmer of the Year, is coming off a GCU season in which she claimed three individual gold medals at the WAC Championships in February. She set GCU records in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke, also breaking the WAC record in the breaststroke. She claimed a third gold in the 200 individual medley and was a part of the Lopes' first-place finishes in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, giving her 15 WAC Championships gold medals in three years as a Lope.
Brunlehner will represent Kenya in Paris with Ridhwan Mohamed, the nation's male Universality qualifier.
"Maria and Ridhwan have worked incredibly hard to reach this point," Kenyan Aquatics Secretary General Collins Marigiri told MozzartSport. "We believe they will represent us admirably and inspire many young swimmers back here home."
Brunlehner's Olympic swimming competition will be Aug. 3 at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France. Starting July 9, Brunlehner will be part of a Kenyan training camp in Miramas, France, before moving to the Olympic Village in Paris on July 22.
Â
Next stop, Paris! 🇫🇷
— GCU Swimming & Diving (@GCU_SwimDive) June 24, 2024
Maria Brunlehner has punched her ticket to the 2024 Summer @Olympics and will compete for the Kenyan National Team 🇰🇪 #LopesUp pic.twitter.com/qzs0bCxpLc
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