The Morning Swim Show, Jan. 23, 2012: Eric Carlson Mixing in Training for Olympic Trials With Playing Poker Professionally

PHOENIX, Arizona, January 23. ON today's edition of The Morning Swim Show, we visit with recent Olympic Trial qualifier Eric Carlson, who is mixing in hard training for the meet with a career as a professional poker player.

Carlson has had an interesting trip through his swimming career, including a choice he had to make in college between studies and swimming. He also talks about his training now in Pasadena and his goals for Trials. Be sure to visit SwimmingWorld.TV for more video interviews.

Special Thanks to Finis for sponsoring the Morning Swim Show's interview segments in the Finis Monitor.
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Morning Swim Show Transcripts
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Peter: This is the Morning Swim Show for Monday, January, 23rd, 2012. I am your host Peter. In the FINIS Monitor today we will talk to swimmer Eric. He just made American Olympic trial cuts in 100 and 200 breaststroke after what has been an interesting off and on career with the sport. Eric joins us right now in the FINIS Monitor from San Diego, California. Hey, Eric, welcome to the Morning Swim Show, how are you?

Eric: I'm doing pretty well. How are you doing?

Peter: Good, thank you. Alright, so you are 27 now, just made trial cuts but you haven't been really back in the water long as I understand?

Eric: No, I have taken two 3 or 4-year breaks in the past 8 years I would say, but I have been back in for about 7 months now and I'm really enjoying where I swim now.

Peter: Okay so you are obviously not only very talented, but you know getting some good training in Pasadena. Why did you end up out in Pasadena, a guy from the East Coast mostly, and what brought you back to the sport?

Eric: Well I ended up in Pasadena — my girlfriend and I had finished up law school in Boston ,and I play poker professionally and decided that L.A. has a pretty good poker scene and between that and my girlfriend Alysia wanting to practice law in California, we just decided to head out to the L.A. area and Pasadena was kind of where we landed in the metro area generally.

Peter: Right, so you are a professional poker player?

Eric: Yes.

Peter: Well that is interesting. Are there any, I don't know — are there any poker skills that help you in the pool?

Eric: I don't think so actually, I don't think the two cross over all that much.

Peter: Alright, well still nonetheless very interesting. Alright is this your first Olympic trials you will be going to?

Eric: Yeah, this is definitely the first time I'm really going to be swimming at this level I would say.

Peter: Alright you go back a long ways though in swimming. You were once honored in Swimming World Magazine as the swimmer of the month way back in I think it was 1994. We found the issue.

Eric: Yeah as a 10-year-old. A very precocious, excited about swimming 10-year-old, I was very happy to get in the magazine too.

Peter: Alright, we will never forget the first time we were in Swimming World Magazine right?

Eric: Right.

Peter: Alright so tell me about what is your goal this time around as you said you have taken a couple breaks, long breaks in swimming but you know is it to you know to make the Olympic trials and really try and make the team or you are just having fun, what is it?

Eric: You know it is funny when I started swimming , we got out to Pasadena in May and I just joined the Rose Bowl Masters Club for fitness more than anything else thinking it is a mile away from where I live and I enjoy swimming and I really like the coach there and I was like "Well I will just swim and see how it goes" and I went to a meet and swam pretty well I guess and suddenly I go to Masters Nationals and at that meet I decided my goal was just to qualify for U.S Nationals in December. And then I qualified for that and I was like "Okay well I guess I will try to make trials" and now I have that and so my girlfriend said I have to have a more lofty goal so my goal this time is to make semifinals at trials which will probably require a pretty big time drop but I am optimistic about it.

Peter: What would you be more excited about making finals at Olympic trials or making the final table of the World Series of Poker?

Eric: Final table at the World Series of Poker I think. You're making well over a million dollars just to get there.

Peter: I knew you would make more money, but what would make you— well I guess the two sometimes go hand-in-hand, I answered my own question.

Eric: I would be more excited about the Olympics I think but I think just to make finals at Trials, I would rather make the final table of the world series.

Peter: Okay but making the Olympics would be better than winning the World Series of Poker or…?

Eric: They would definitely be on par. I think maybe the Olympics would be more exciting.

Peter: We have found the swimming equivalent okay.

Eric: Yes.

Peter: Now we have accomplished what we set out to do today.

Eric: Good.

Peter: You have got an interesting background. I understand that when you swam in college at Duke you quit the team t one point over scheduling conflict with a chemistry class?

Eric: I quit the team pretty much the first day. I got to Duke and I was recruited there but their non-scholarship program and when I got there just talking to coach about my schedule, I had an 8:30 chemistry course and the assistant coach pretty much said you are not going to be able to be on the team and make that class. And I told her I was planning to be a chemistry major at that time and it was the only time the class was offered ,and she was like well I don't know what to tell and I said I don't want to tell you and I just kind of decided that academics was more important than swimming for me at that point and didn't swim at Duke.

Peter: Swimming on your own terms.

Eric: Excuse me?

Peter: I said swimming on your own terms it seems how you have always kind of gone about it.

Eric: I think that is a fair assessment, yes.

Peter: Well what is the next, what is the next real, what is the next meet and what is the next poker tournament and can anybody watch it?

Eric: My next meet probably would just be a couple of small Masters meets in the L.A. area and then I will be going to Master Nationals in Greensboro in April and then hopefully I will be able to find some long course meets in kind of April, early May kind of for a tune up for trials. And the next Poker tournament the L.A. Poker Classic is just in a couple of weeks here out at Commerce Casino in L.A and I will be playing a few events and if I go really deep in one, the main event is televised.

Peter: Well, Eric, thank you very much for joining us and good luck in 2012.

Eric: No problem, thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

Peter: Alright that is Eric Carlson joining us in the FINIS Monitor today and that is it for today's show. I'm Peter Bush reminding you to keep your head down at the finish.
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