The Morning Swim Show, Sept. 6, 2011: Jenny Connolly Excited for Opportunities that Lie Ahead in 2012

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 6. ON today's edition of The Morning Swim Show, Jenny Connolly talks about the breakthrough summer she had, which included a gold medal at the World University Games.

Connolly talks about her confidence level before swimming fast first at nationals, then at the World University Games, and how it changed after those meets. This sets her up for what could continue to be a rewarding year for Connolly, with her sights on the NCAAs and Olympic Trials.. Watch the full show in the video player below and visit SwimmingWorld.TV for more video interviews.

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Show Transcript: (Note: This is an automated service where some typos and grammatical errors may occur.)

Peter Busch: This is The Morning Swim Show for Tuesday, September 6th 2011. I'm your host, Peter Busch. In the FINIS monitor today we'll talk to Jenny Connolly. She just won a gold and two silver medals at the World University Games. Now she's starting her senior year at the University of Tennessee. Jenny joins us right now in the FINIS monitor from Knoxville, Tennessee. Hey Jenny, welcome to The Morning Swim Show. How are you?

Jenny Connolly: I'm good. How are you doing?

Peter Busch: Good. Congratulations on great swimming in China.

Jenny Connolly: Thank you.

Peter Busch: It must have been a blast.

Jenny Connolly: Oh my gosh! It was so much fun.

Peter Busch: Confidence level a month ago, confidence level now.

Jenny Connolly: A month ago confidence level was pretty high, not too bad; now it's really high. We're doing really good mentally.

Peter Busch: What's the focus for you this upcoming year? NCAAs or Trials?

Jenny Connolly: Some of both — since SECs and NCAAs come first we're going to focus on that but Olympic Trials is always going to be in the back of my mind. I don't think I could ever stop thinking about Trials.

Peter Busch: Well you certainly put yourself in the conversation with the way you swam this summer – 100 back, 100 fly maybe – potential in both events.

Jenny Connolly: Yes, potential in both events hopefully, that would be great.

Peter Busch: What do you think about the landscape right now of the women's 100 fly and 100 backstroke in the US?

Jenny Connolly: I think both events are pretty loaded. I know the 100 backstroke is – that's going to be a really good race. I think between – there are like six of are that are within like half a second. It's going to be a really good race. And then 100 fly is also going to be pretty loaded with again like eight girls that are really close so both races should be fun to watch.

Peter Busch: Well, it's fun to be in the conversation, right?

Jenny Connolly: Oh, yes, definitely.

Peter Busch: And having gone from sixth at NCAAs this past year in the 100 backstroke to now being one of the top backstrokers in the world you've got to feel pretty good about your chances in March to win.

Jenny Connolly: Oh yes, definitely.

Peter Busch: Do you prefer short course or long course swimming?

Jenny Connolly: I don't know. I like them both for different reasons. I don't know. I've always loved short course but my straightaways have gotten so much better that I really like long course now so it changes.

Peter Busch: So would you say that has been where we've seen the most improvement with the swimming on top of the water and what exactly have you done to improve that stroke?

Jenny Connolly: Definitely. I'd say straightaways are my strength now. We've just done a lot of aerobic work, a lot of endurance work so I could finish my race stronger than I start even and I think going into the next trials in 2012, working on starts and turns, is going to be a huge point that I focus on during this college season because I know that's where I can improve but straight-aways definitely is my strength right now.

Peter Busch: What's an example of an aerobic set that you do to maybe share with the viewers, something to help them finish that 100 meters? Because we often see that in the 100 – people are great for about 75 or 80 meters and it's really tough to finish.

Jenny Connolly: I've always struggled with that and so it's exciting to see improvement in that area for me. But an example of a set that we've done – we do a lot of best average work – so we'll do like 100's best average like anywhere from 4 to 12 but it increases throughout the year. And then we also do a lot of 200 backstroke work and holding pace or negative splitting. We do a lot of different sets to keep it exciting.

Peter Busch: How did you wind up in Tennessee?

Jenny Connolly: Good question. I was just looking at a bunch of different schools all over the country and my club coach recommended Tennessee to me and I was just like I don't even know where Tennessee is on the map. I don't even know anything about it. And he said that Tennessee's coach, Matt Kredich, was doing amazing things at the program and so I thought why not take a look at it, why not take a trip. I looked into it further, took a trip, and I just fell in love with the team, with the coaches, and with the school. It's everything I could have dreamed of and I've improved a lot since I've been here so no regrets.

Peter Busch: I hear you're majoring in Recreational and Leisure Studies. Is that correct?

Jenny Connolly: Yes.

Peter Busch: That sounds like what I do in the summer time. What does that mean?

Jenny Connolly: It's actually really interesting. It sounds kind of like a joke but it's really not. It's fun forms of therapy and it delves into all the different types of therapy so like emotional therapy, physical therapy, and social and mental. But the path that I'm going to take is working with kids with mental disabilities. I've done a lot of camps with kids with Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida and a bunch of different mental retardation and a lot of different disorders and I just fell in love with the kids and fell in love with the program and what the program actually does for the kids and the improvement that it helps with the kids and I just love it.

Peter Busch: How did you pick that path?

Jenny Connolly: I have always liked working with Special Olympics. People with disabilities are really special kind of people and I always feel so much better about myself working with them and so much better like seeing improvement. They're just special kind of people, the special spirit about them and so going into freshman year I actually picked that major. My freshman year I found interest in it and looked into a bunch of different majors and I wanted something with like therapy but I wanted to be able to work with those type of people and found it and it's been a perfect fit.

Peter Busch: Jenny, you're going to be one of the most fun people to watch in college swimming this year. We're looking forward to it.

Jenny Connolly: Thank you so much.

Peter Busch: And thanks a lot for joining us. Good luck.

Jenny Connolly: Thank you.

Peter Busch: All right, that's Jenny Connolly joining us in the FINIS monitor from Knoxville, Tennessee. That's it for today's show. I'm Peter Busch reminding you to keep your head down at the finish.

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