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OMAHA, Neb. — Tuesday was the day that Erika Erndl both longed for and dreaded.

The Olympic swimming trials schedule required the 30-year-old from Naples to swim two races in less than 90 minutes. One race was her personal favorite, and the other arguably represented her best chance to make the Olympic team. Dropping one of the races only merited a fleeting consideration.

“I thought about it, but I didn’t know which one I would take away,” said Erndl, who competes for Naples-based Swim Florida. “The 200 free was my best shot since they take the top six (to the Olympic team). But the 200 IM is my favorite event. I felt I couldn’t miss it, either.”

So Erndl dove in the pool at the Qwest Center around 11:20 a.m. and finished 21st in the preliminaries for the 200-meter freestyle in 2:00.47. Then she came back less than 90 minutes later and swam the 200-meter individual medley preliminaries in 2:17.36, finishing 25th.

Both marks were personal bests for Erndl, adding to her best-ever time in the 400 individual medley Sunday. But only the top 16 in each race advanced to the semifinals.

“I feel all right,” she said after the 200 IM. “I wanted to go faster than that. I feel like I had a lot left. I swallowed a little water between the backstroke and the breaststroke.”

Swim Florida’s Amy Modglin of Fort Myers finished 83rd in 2:21.00. She was seeded 109th going in.

Another Swim Florida competitor, Bishop Verot 15-year-old Stephanie Peacock, was 105th in 2:24.63. She was seeded 80th going in.

Peacock was 88th in the 200 freestyle qualifying, in 2:04.29. She was seeded 60th.

Erndl still has one more chance to qualify for the Olympics. Thursday, she swims in the 100 freestyle. She’s seeded 44th and the top six will go to Beijing.

“I have nothing to leave on the table,” she said.

Still, no matter what happens in the 100 free, Erndl has thoroughly enjoyed her third Olympic trials.

“The experience is amazing,” she said. “It was also exciting to be there in 1996 and 2000 in Indianapolis. But what they’re doing here is phenomenal.”

Estero’s Chelsea Franklin was feeling better Tuesday after breathing problems affected her performance in the 400-meter freestyle Monday.

“I had a really hard time breathing,” said the 17-year-old Franklin, who finished 83rd with a time of 4:26.52, well off her qualifying time of 4:18.16. “They put me on an inhaler (Monday) and Flonase (nasal spray). I don’t know if it’s because it’s an indoor pool. I’ve always had problems swimming indoors. In Florida, everything is outdoors.”

Franklin said she had suffered some bouts of exercise-induced asthma when she was younger, but hadn’t experienced any breathing problems recently until she got to Omaha.

“The first day I got in the pool (Saturday), my chest was tight,” she said.

Gulf Coast Swim Team coach Don Henshaw agreed that the adjustment to an indoor swimming pool can be tough.

“Swimmers who have trouble breathing — it magnifies itself indoors,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.”

Despite the problems in her race, Franklin said her first Olympic trials will help her down the road.

“My whole goal was the get the experience of swimming in front of 9,000 people,” she said. “I know in four years that if I make a trials cut, I’m going to be able to come here and be more physically and mentally ready.

“Hopefully in four years they’ll be outdoors.”

She’ll be heading back home Wednesday, and anticipates hearing from a lot of college swim coaches.

“Arkansas already e-mailed me asking for my phone number,” she said.

Wednesday, Swim Florida’s Robby Kennedy will compete in the men’s 200 breaststroke preliminaries, and Maida Turnadzic of Swim Florida will swim in the women’s 200 butterfly prelims.