COLUMBUS, Ohio – It’s a little more than a year away until the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janiero, Brazil and for some athletes, the “Road To Rio” goes through Ohio State. That includes two Buckeye men’s swimmers, hoping to make a splash in next year’s Olympic trials.

“If you sit down and think about it all it once, it can get a little daunting. So it helps to break it down into meets and months and try to think about day-to-day”, said junior swimmer Josh Fleagle.

But these are the Olympics, just a year away and for both junior swimmer D.J. MacDonald and Fleagle, it’s a dream they want to see realized.

“It’s always on the back of your mind,” said MacDonald, “but when you’re swimming with a team like this and you have big goals in the short season, it makes it a little easier.”

“Right now, we’re just focusing on the end of August, which is nationals”, said Fleagle, “and we’re just trying to go there and have a good meet and get some good times in.”

Qualifying for the Olympics is competitive though in the United States, possibly the toughest of any country. Something both Buckeyes learned at the 2012 Olympic trials.

“It was definitely an eye-opening meet,” said MacDonald. “The competition was obviously really fast. I think it was a really good learning experience”

And so both continue to work every morning at 6:00 a.m. at the OSU pool. D.J. working on his signature breaststroke. Josh working on freestyle. Both with the hope that come next year, they are firmly in the mix to represent the USA.

“You definitely have to be mentally and physically into it and just kind of enjoy the ride as much as possible,” said Fleagle.

Next up on that ride is the trip to the U.S. Nationals held in San Antonio, Texas from August 6-10.