Drew Kibler reacts after the Men's 200 Freestyle during wave 2 of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on Monday, June 14, 2021, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

When Drew Kibler climbed out of the pool after placing third in the 200-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 15 in Omaha, Nebraska, he had plenty of supporters on hand to congratulate him for earning a berth to the Tokyo Games in the 800 freestyle relay.

Among them were his grandparents, Art Kovacs and Lynne Challenger Kovacs from Youngtown.

“We’ve gone to so many swim meets through the years, and to see him take it from one level to another level and now to the Olympics, it’s just amazing,” Lynne said. “It was very emotional for all of us — a wonderful shared experience.”

The top four finishers in the event automatically made the 800-meter freestyle relay team.

Kibler, of Carmel, Indiana, will be a senior at the University of Texas in the fall. He is the son of Tracy Kovacs Kibler and Phil Kibler. Tracy is a 1990 Ursuline graduate and Phil is a 1988 Boardman graduate.

The family attributes Drew’s competitiveness to Art Kovacs, who coached high school basketball at Youngstown South for 19 seasons and also coached at Braceville, Geneva, Lakeview, Leetonia and Greenville, Pennsylvania.

“Papa coached basketball, but the coach in him brings out the fire to compete,” said Drew, who finished his 200-meter race in 1 minute, 45.92 seconds. “It’s not about the sport; it’s about competing and working hard, respect and doing the things you’re taught. He instilled that in his players and in my mom, and I truly believe that trickled down to me.”

“I’ve always been a believer in whatever you’re doing or competing in, you do it at 100 percent,” Art said. “(Drew) was barely walking but not afraid to go into the water. He always had to be in the water.

“When he was young, he was always winning races and you wondered how he was going to develop. Now, he’s about 6-foot-6 and has a real natural and fluid stroke. I know basketball coaches were probably wishing he was on the court, but he never showed an interest in that.”

Tracy played basketball at Ursuline. Phil never competed in athletics, but still played an important role in his son’s journey to the Tokyo Games.

“He’s been swimming since he was 7, but I never wanted him to look back later in life and say I never got to do this or that because all I was doing was swimming,” Phil said. “It’s so time consuming. So through the years I’m constantly asking him if he’s having fun. His response often has been, ‘No, but I love it.’ That’s good enough for me.”

After completing the journey to the Olympic trials, Drew was almost robbed of the opportunity to compete in the semifinals on June 14.

“We were on our way to the Trials and all excited and anxious, then we found out Drew was sick,” Tracy said. “He had a fever and sinus infection. I went into mom mode then, and the anxiety about the Trials disappeared for a bit. He was feeling better Monday and that was a relief and he made it to the finals.

“By Tuesday, I was a bundle of nerves again. When I saw two swimmers start to fade going into the last 50, I knew he would be in the top four and I started jumping up and down before he touched. Then I started hugging my husband, our daughter Delaney, and my parents.”

Drew, the 2018 national high school swimmer of the year, finished behind champion Kiernan Smith (1:45.29) and former Longhorns teammate Townley Haas (1:45.66) — who was a relay gold medalist in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The top two will compete in the individual 200 freestyle at Tokyo.

“My goal was to try to beat Townley because he won the event in the Trials in 2016 at age 21,” Drew said. “I figured if I beat him, I would be in the 200 individuals (in Tokyo). That confidence relaxed me and allowed me to execute my race strategy. I’m a pretty strong finisher, but I was sixth halfway through and maybe fourth or fifth going into the last 50 before I made my charge.”

Townley won’t be the only familiar face in Tokyo for Drew. His former Carmel High School teammate, Jake Mitchell, who just completed his freshman season at the University of Michigan, also will be there. Mitchell finished second in the 400 free on June 12, but his time (3:48.17) did not meet the Olympic standard (3:46.87). He had until June 27 to meet the standard in a time trial.

Nearly 90 minutes after Drew became the first Olympian from the storied Carmel program, Mitchell passed his time trial.

“Having familiar faces there will be a huge benefit,” Drew said. “Townley won a relay gold medal in Rio and we train together and push each other, so being with him there will be a lot less fearful.

“I’m still very close with Jake and we trained together through the years. I am amazed by what he did. Getting behind the block by himself with the whole place behind him and going crazy was mind-blowing. He crushed it.”

Drew said he is motivated daily by being in the Texas program and by being a part of the Trials.

“That’s why I chose to go to Texas, because of the depth in the program and because of legendary coach Eddie Reese,” he said. “Then you have the lead-up to this and you’re training and Michael Phelps walks by and says to you, ‘we’ve got a streak to continue boys.’ Now, that’s truly a lot of motivation. I’ve met him a few times and it’s incredible to meet the most decorated swimmer of all time.”

Art and Lynne will share the Olympics experience with the Carmel community, where there will be a watch party.

It was a proud week for the grandparents. On Father’s Day when they were in Omaha, granddaughter Natalie Kovacs was singing the National Anthem and God Bless America in PNC Park where the Pittsburgh Pirates played host to the Cleveland Indians.

“We wish we could’ve been in two places at one time,” Lynne said. “But we’re so proud of all of our grandkids.”