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OLYMPICS IS ON. CAN YOU BELIEVE WE’RE JUST 45 DAYS AWAY FROM THE SUMMER GAMES? AND ONE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SWIMMER IS LOOKING TO PUNCH HIS TICKET TO PARIS. HE’LL BE COMPETING IN THE OLYMPIC TRIALS NEXT WEEK. ��������13’S ERIN LLEWELLYN SPOKE TO THE OLYMPIC HOPEFUL ABOUT BEING ONE OF FEW BLACK SWIMMERS AND HIS JOURNEY TO THE GAMES. MAKE YOUR MARK. OLYMPIC HOPEFUL JADEN BELL IS PREPARING TO DIVE IN AT THIS YEAR’S TRIALS TO SWIM IN AN NFL STADIUM IS IT’S KIND OF NUTS AND I MEAN, I’VE SWAM AGAINST IN MEETS WHERE THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE WATCHING ME, BUT 30,000 IS KIND OF IT’S CRAZY TO THINK ABOUT WITH HOPES OF PUNCHING HIS TICKET TO PARIS IN THE 50 METER FREESTYLE, BEING ABLE TO REPRESENT YOUR COUNTRY IN A WORLD CLASS EVENT. I MEAN, THERE’S THERE’S NOTHING LIKE IT. HEY, THERE WE GO. BUT GETTING TO THE FINISH LINE WASN’T EASY FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SWIMMER. I’VE BEEN IN AND OUT OF INJURY MY SOPHOMORE YEAR, SO COMING IN, UM, HAVING A COUPLE MEETS WHERE I BARELY MISSED IT, AND THEN FINALLY RIGHT ON THE DEADLINE, GETTING THAT TIME. I MEAN, IT WAS IT WAS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE. BELL SUFFERED AN ANKLE BRUISE LATE LAST YEAR AND A LOWER BACK INJURY THIS SEASON. MY FIRST STROKE, AS SOON AS YOU PULL THROUGH, YOU’RE ON THE SURFACE, HE SAYS. AFTER AN INJURY, THERE’S TWO TYPES OF ATHLETES THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO SIT AROUND AND DO NOTHING AND THEN THERE’S HIM. IT MAKES THEM EVEN MORE MOTIVATED TO SHOW PEOPLE LIKE, YEAH, I’M STILL HERE. YEAH, I MIGHT HAVE FORGOT ABOUT ME, BUT I’M GOING TO GET BACK AS SOON AS I GET HEALED AND I FEEL LIKE I’M THE SECOND TYPE OF ATHLETE. THE WICHITA, KANSAS NATIVE QUALIFIED FOR THE TRIALS IN A LAST CHANCE WITH A PERSONAL BEST TIME. OF 22.57 SECONDS. CONGRATULATIONS TO JADEN BELL, LANE NUMBER FOUR. WHO QUALIFIES FOR THE OLYMPIC TRIALS TWO WEEKS PRIOR? I MISSED IT BY NOT EVEN A 10TH OF A SECOND. SO IN ORDER TO LIKE TWO WEEKS LATER, GET THAT TIME. AND NOT ONLY THAT, DO THAT IN FRONT OF MY PARENTS AND OLD COACHES AND OLD FRIENDS. I MEAN, IT WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL. BELL IS ONE OF TEN SWIMMERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SWIM TEAM WHO IS BRINGING THE TIDE TO INDIANAPOLIS FOR THE TRIALS, BUT HE’S ALSO ONE OF FEW BLACK SWIMMERS. ONE DAY I WAS REALLY QUESTIONING LIKE, WHAT IS MY PURPOSE IN SWIMMING? AND EVENTUALLY I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION OF IT’S TO BREAK DOWN STEREOTYPES THAT I GREW UP WITH AND THE BEST WAY I FEEL LIKE I CAN DO THAT IS TO SWIM ON HUGE PLATFORMS, MAKE MY PRESENCE KNOWN ON THINGS LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA AND JUST LIKE REALLY SHOW THE PEOPLE THAT LIKE THIS IS AN EVERYONE SPORT, NOT JUST A WHITE MAN’S SPORT. BELL CAME WITHIN 100TH OF A SECOND TO QUALIFY IN 2020, WHEN HE WAS JUST A SOPHOMORE IN HIGH SCHOOL. STUCK, STUCK, STUCK, STUCK RIGHT INTO THAT FIRST STROKE. BUT NOW HE’S CLOSER THAN HE’S EVER BEEN TO WHAT HE CALLS A EVERY SWIMMERS DREAM GOING FOR THE GOLD. I’M JUST KEEPING MY HEAD DOWN AND GRINDING, GETTING READY FOR THIS TRIALS AND TRYING TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO OUT THERE. DO THE BEST I DO WITH EACH STROKE. PULLING HIM CLOSER TO THE FINISH LINE ON THE ROAD T