Noa Sakamoto is getting used to traveling long distances.

Besides swimming the two longest distances in the pool for Stanford, Sakamoto is traveling the world to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in open-water swim, the marathon of swimming events.

"I think it's kind of a neat opportunity that coincides with my senior year," Sakamoto said. "Hopefully, I'm able to swim well. I've committed to put in a good swim in October (at the U.S. Olympic Trials) and hope it turns out well."

He has a long way to go, both in and out of the water. The longest event in the pool is 1,650 yards. The open-water swim is 10 kilometers — six times that.

In the past year, Sakamoto traveled to Florida and Spain, and last weekend to Indiana, to compete in open water swimming events.

In Sunday's Indianapolis Grand Prix, Sakamoto finished fourth behind training partner and fellow Punahou alum John Flanagan. Flanagan completed the 10K course in 2 hours, 58.4 seconds and Sakamoto in 2:03:24.7. Mark Warkentin won in 2:00:48.3.

Open-water swimming was added to the Olympics in late 2006. Sakamoto started on the road to qualifying in May at the USA Swimming Open Water National Championships in Fort Myers, Fla.

He placed fourth in the 10K, finishing only 30 seconds behind the winner and qualifying for the U.S. Open Water Olympic Selection Meet/World Championships Trials, Oct. 20 to 21, in Fort Myers.

Sakamoto also made it to the Olympic Trials in 2004 for the 200 and 400 freestyle events.

"That was a great experience," said Sakamoto, who called it "one of the fastest meets in the world."

It was also overwhelming for the seemingly shy Sakamoto, who was disappointed that he didn't post any personal best times at the national meet.

It may be that open-water swimming suits Sakamoto's personality better.

"I definitely enjoy it," he said. "It's a different racing experience than in the pool. You are right next to your competitor. There's a lot more relaxed atmosphere about the event. The crowds are smaller. I think I still get rather intimidated at large meets and it affects my performance."

He hopes to use October's Trials to advance to the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Open Water Swimming Championships. The top finishers in that event earn Olympic berths.

For now, Sakamoto is focusing on his final year at Stanford, and his swimming for the Cardinal and, hopefully, the Olympics.

"It's gone so fast, and it's really a scary time when you think about what you're going to do after college," said Sakamoto, who had to take his June finals in Seville, Spain, because he was swimming in an open-water event there. "Right now the focus is for the meet in October."

Sakamoto plans to complete in the longer distances in the pool, namely the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle events.

"The coaches have been really flexible in giving me workouts oriented to open-water swimming," he said.

The training is similar, and his pool events help him in open water.

"And if you have a lot of upper-end swimming in the 500 you have an advantage over the field," said Sakamoto, who later this month will compete in the Maui Channel Swim and Waikiki Roughwater Swim events.

Sakamoto first began swimming national open water events in 2003.

"That got me excited about it on a national level," he said. "The experience of growing up swimming in Hawai'i laid the foundation for that."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.