Miller's quest to fulfill a 12-year-old dream sends him to Omaha

When Steve Miller was nine years old, he watched the 1996 Summer Olympics while recovering from a tonsillectomy.

Over the course of the two weeks in which he was bed-ridden, he was glued to his television. Nothing stole his attention quite like the swimming.

Now, 12 years later, the University of Minnesota junior will head off to Omaha on June 29 to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials for a spot on the 2008 team that will head to Beijing later this summer.

"When you're a swimmer, you're always asked two questions," said Miller, who was an Eagle-Tribune All-Star his junior year before taking MVP honors as a senior. "I always get the, 'Do you really shave your legs and wear a Speedo?' And, 'Are you going to be in the Olympics?' The answers for me have always been 'yes' to the first one, and 'no' to the second one.

"The Olympics are on just a difference level. To compete for the United States, I think you really need to be in the top-15 in the world at that given time. I always said that I'd like to go to the Olympic Trials just once. I didn't know which year, but since I was 10- or 12-years old, I thought about it. ... It's still such a huge honor."

To qualify for the Trials, Miller needed to hit the qualifying time in one of the long-course meets. Colleges swim short course meets, so the weekend after the NCAA Championships in Seattle, Miller and a group of teammates made the trek to Ohio State for a long-course Grand Prix meet.

"I was still rested and shaved from the NCAA's the previous weekend, so I figured, 'Why not?'" said Miller, who will swim in the 50, and 100 freestyles.

After dominating the state of New Hampshire as a senior, Miller committed to Rutgers. After his freshman season, Rutgers announced that it was cutting the program.

"I sort of felt a little lied to by the university," said the Windham native, who won five state titles in high school. "It was really hard. I thought about how I signed on with my National Letter of Intent to commit to that school for four years, and graduate. After just a year, I had to go back to looking at other schools and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to hook on with another team.

"Looking back, it was a blessing. Rutgers was in the Big East, and it's good swimming, but the Big 10 is a different level. I think I had a certain level of development I would have reached at Rutgers, and I think I surpassed that at Minnesota. I'm in a top-10 national program. If Rutgers never cut their team, I don't think I'd be going to an Olympic qualifier, and I know for a fact that I would not be having the success I'm having now."

When Miller first decided to transfer to Minnesota, he wasn't sure that he was even going to be able to compete. That became a moot point when he placed sixth in the 100 freestyle (44.07) and also scored in the 200 free (1:38.59, 18th) at the Big 10 Championships.

"When I first came here, I just wanted to make the travel team," he said. "I didn't know whether or not I was good enough to even make the travel squad. That was my goal. Initially I really felt like I needed to prove that I belonged, because swimming in New Hampshire isn't a big sport. I was going up against guys from California and Florida where the sport was a lot bigger and I needed to prove it to them, and in a sense, to myself."

"Just because you're swimming in a state that isn't known for swimming doesn't mean you can't compete against the best in the country, I'm proof of that," he said. "Look at Jenny Thompson (the Olympic legend from Dover). ... Maybe a kid will look at another New Hampshire kid like me going to the Olympic Qualifier and say, 'If he can do it, I can do it too.' "

Steve Miller has always been overlooked. When he was in high school at Salem, Phillips Academy's Brian Fiske was the star. Then, of course, there is the Steve Miller Band. He was the small fish in a big pond at Minnesota.

"I don't think I ever thought of myself as being overlooked," he said. "Swimming wasn't the biggest sport, and other guys when I was in high school were on teams that were among the best in their leagues and state. We were good at Salem, too, but it never bothered me. I've never considered myself as an underdog."

Photos

Windham's Steve Miller has made great strides since transferring to the University of Minnesota. At a recent meet he qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles. Staff photo