Eugene Botes, a native of South Africa, had always been a good swimmer, but he never envisioned himself swimming at the international level.

That changed, however, after a dominating performance by Botes in a January meet in his junior year.

Botes was approached by Penn State swimming and diving coach Bill Dorenkott about swimming at the international level and possibly competing in the Olympics.

Botes had two decisions to make.

First, he had to decide whether or not he wanted to make the leap into international competition and then had to decide which country he wanted to represent.

"My belief is that he had enough talent to represent either," Dorenkott said.

Botes, who has dual citizenship in South Africa and the United States, lived in South Africa until he was 13.

After some thought, Botes decided he would represent the country of his birth. Dorenkott felt it was a worthy decision.

After spending this season as a volunteer coach for the Nittany Lions while simultaneously working with Dorenkott, Botes qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece on April 21.

Botes was participating in the Telkom South African Aquatic Championships at the Kings Park Pool in Durban, South Africa.

Botes got the FINA "A" standard time in the 100-meter butterfly and will swim in the event in the Olympics. He is also eligible for the relays.

He is the first Penn State swimmer or diver to qualify for the Olympics since diver Mary Ellen Clark qualified in 1992 and 1996.

Botes is the Penn State record holder in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 47.01 seconds. He also holds the 100-meter freestyle record with a time of 42.90 seconds.

Botes' rise in the swimming community was halted in December of 2003 when he suffered a winging scapula injury when he was weightlifting.

The injury occurs when the nerve that holds down the shoulder blade becomes damaged. It gets the name from looking like a hanging wing.

As a result of the injury, Botes could not raise his arm above his head.

Botes found Dr. Rahul Nath, a reconstructive microsurgeon at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, who could help.

In January he had surgery.

Botes' mother Rosemary remains grateful for Dr. Nath's work and thinks Eugene will perform well in the Olympics.

"It was exciting to learn of his qualifying, but I'm concerned about his shoulder," Rosemary Botes said. "Eugene is very confident he's going to swim as well as he has ever swam."