Wisconsin swimmer Adam Mania’s dreams of Olympic gold ended when he failed to make it out of the qualifying round in the 200-meter backstroke on Aug. 18. The 27th-place finish was preceded by a 23rd-place finish in the 100-meter backstroke.

“This race was a good learning experience, [but] it didn’t go anywhere near what I planned,” Mania said after the 100-meter race. “During my race I felt pretty good and relaxed, but deep inside I was really, really nervous having it been my first international competition. I was first at the 75-meter mark, which was awesome, but then I just shut down and couldn’t move and got seventh in my heat.”

Mania posted a time of 56.20 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke, placing him second to last in his heat. The time was three-quarters of a second slower than his time at the Polish nationals, when he posted a time of 55.45 seconds.

“My time was much slower than in June and slower than last year,” Mania said. “My time from earlier would have qualified me for the next round, which makes [the loss] a little harder to swallow.”

Mania’s struggles continued two days later when he swam a time of 2:03.73 seconds in the 200 backstroke, again failing to make the semifinal round. Team USA’s Aaron Piersol, whom Mania competed against in last year’s NCAA championships, won the event with a time of 1:57.33.

Mania, whose parents are originally from Poland, received dual citizenship and represented his native Poland in the Olympics. Mania’s dual citizenship forced the Hickman, Neb., native to practice in Poland with Polish athletes and coaches. However, while Mania trained in Poland he decided to continue using the training regimen designed by UW swimming coach Eric Hansen.

“I’m kind of going to do my own thing,” Mania said before the Olympics began. “I don’t know any of the coaches very well, so I’m not really going to try to see what they want me to do. I’d rather just stick with what Eric’s been doing.”

Mania owns the Badger record in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and was a member of several award-winning relay teams at Wisconsin.

Mania was one of two Badger seniors to qualify for the Olympic Games, joining senior Carly Piper, who won a gold medal as a member of the USA 800-meter freestyle relay team. Both athletes open the season for the Badgers on Oct. 8, when the Badgers host the Wisconsin Invite at the Natatorium.