My Olympic Dreams By Lia Neal

I went into the Olympic Trials knowing that the top six finishers in the 100 and 200 freestyles make the team. All I had wanted was to slip into that sixth place spot and make the team. My first swim was the 200 freestyle and I let my nerves get the best of me and ended up adding three seconds. I was of course upset but that swim just made me all the more hungry to do well in the 100. I saw the 100 as a chance to redeem myself because I had invested way too much time and energy to let a small hiccup, like being nervous, stand in my way. The 100 freestyle at Trials was the most painful race I have ever swum, but it was also a race that I take the greatest pride in. After touching the wall and seeing that I came in fourth, I immediately began to bawl. I guess I was so emotional because I kept envisioning seeing a “6” next to my name and the “4” caught me by surprise. Not only that but I was also fulfilling a dream of mine. I felt like I was still in a dream until I actually arrived in the aquatics arena in London for the Games.

I loved how the US swim team trained together for 2 weeks; one week in Tennessee and the other in Vichy, France. That gave us a lot of time to bond and we all became really close. It was really fun to get to know everyone. The training was a lot of fun and we even had a lot of down time to just chill and be with each other, but all of the tapering was making me anxious and I could not wait to race. Honestly, I’ve never wanted to race so badly in my life. The good thing was that I was going to be swimming the first day of the Games. I was actually completely excited, not nervous. The Olympic Trials were so much more nerve wracking than the actual Olympics because at the Olympics, you’re already on the team. There isn’t any pressure to make the team anymore, your job was just to make sure you give it your all and out-swim the opposing countries.

One of my favorite things was obviously being on the relay. I was so thrilled to lead it off and to finally swim…at the Olympics! After the race was over all I wanted to do was to swim it again. When I was told that I’d be swimming on the night relay, I was over the moon ecstatic. It was such an honor to represent the country, in both the prelims and finals relays, and to stand on the podium was surreal. My other favorite thing was the Olympic Village; it’s amazing to see the best athletes in the world all in one place. It’s like a utopia of really fit people. Other things that made life seem perfect were the constant massages that we would get during training and at the Olympics, 24/7 dining hall, team uniform, becoming great friends with people on the team and learning from each other, and so much more. The experience was invaluable. I am so lucky to have experienced and be a part of something so amazing. People told me it would be an unforgettable experience and I’m here to say that I can vouch for that. It makes all the countless hours of swimming up and down the pool definitely all worth the while.

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