West Johnston High School student Sarah Henry’s trip to the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials included a storm with winds estimated at 140 mph, her introduction to swimming’s “Bat suit,” a swim in the semifinals against Olympic legend Amanda Beard and, most importantly for her, four new personal records.

Henry, who qualified for the Olympic Trials in four different events, finished at least 21 places higher than she was seeded in each of her events: the 400-meter individual medley, the 100 breaststroke, the 200 individual medley and the 200 breaststroke.

“I was definitely pleased with how I did,” Henry said after returning from Omaha, Neb., the site of the Trials. “One of my goals was to make the finals in an event and I was able to do that. I jumped up 30 or 40 places in some events and I was the youngest swimmer in the final 16 of the 200 breast.”

Henry’s round of events opened in the 400 IM where she finished 52nd out of 83 entries with a time of 4:54.8. She was seeded 73rd in the event.

The top-16 times in the opening round advanced to the semifinals, then the top eight in the semis move onto the final where two Olympic team spots are up for grabs in each event.

Henry swan in front of 9,000 fans in the preliminary rounds and more than 13,000 for the finals. “It was pretty intense and a really great atmosphere,” Henry added.

The 2007 N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-A 100-yard butterfly champion really started to cut her time in her next event, the 100 breast. She came in 32nd (at 1:10.89) out of 106 swimmers after entering as the 100th seed.

In the 200 individual medley, Henry edged closer to a semifinal berth. She took 26th (2:17.45) out of 123 swimmers after being seeded 68th.

Throughout the meet, Henry swam in the much-ballyhooed Speedo LZR Racer suit. The full-body suit has been worn in the breaking of more than three dozen world record swims this year alone. It features a polyurethane layer with a layer of normal fabric and is extremely tight-fitting.

Under a promotional arrangement, swimmers at the U.S. Olympic Trials were able to wear the suit in competition without being charged for it, as long as they returned it.

“It was the first time I’d even see one,” Henry said of the suit. “But it was definitely a pretty amazing thing.”

But not everyone was faster in the souped up suit. The 2008 Olympic Trials saw 39 percent of the competitors set lifetime best times. Henry, who swims for the Raleigh Swimming Association, was a perfect four-for-four on bids for personal record swims.

The pool used in the trials was also specially built to increase speed with two empty lanes on each side to help keep the water calmer during events.

In her final event, Henry came through with a semifinal berth. Henry reeled off a swim of 2:30.55 (nearly four seconds better than her previous time) to earn a semis bid (finishing 13th). She was seeded 56th.

“My best event was definitely the 200 breast,” Henry said. “I had started swimming on Sunday and the 200 was on Thursday, so by then I was used to everything else. At the beginning, it was all new to me but by that point, I was a lot more comfortable and relaxed.”

Henry backed up her 13th place finish in the semifinals later that day, finishing in the same position and just 0.22 seconds slower than her first outing in the event.

The rising high school junior’s successful outing translated onto the world rankings stage as well. Fédération Internationale de Natation, which oversees competition in five aquatic sports: swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo and open water swimming, maintains the official world rankings for the International Olympic Committee.

FINA ranks the top-150 swimmers in each stroke. Henry moved up to 79th in the 200 breaststroke, 127th in the 200 IM and 135th in the 100 breast, based on her performances at the U.S. Trials.

Henry’s finishes also earned her a spot on the 2008-09 National Junior Team. She will be representing the U.S. in international competition in the coming year.