Chased By Youth, Team USA Veteran Kelsi Dahlia Seeking Second Olympic Berth

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Chased By Youth, Veteran Kelsi Dahlia Seeking Second Olympic Berth

By Luke Randle, Swimming World Intern

The journey to Olympic qualification is immensely tough. With the United States Trials set to take place next month in Omaha, swimmers will be eager to earn their place in Tokyo. Kelsi Dahlia (known as Kelsi Worrell in 2016) is attempting to make her return to the Olympics this Summer. Dahlia, 26, competed in the Games in Rio in 2016, contesting the 100 butterfly and winning a gold medal in the 400 medley relay.

The oldest of six siblings, Dahlia established herself in college when she competed for the Louisville Cardinals. She exploded into the spotlight at the 2015 NCAA Championships, where she became the first woman to swim the 100-yard butterfly in under 50 seconds. Success at the NCAA level helped launch Dahlia onto the U.S. National Team and to a berth to the 2016 Olympics.

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Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

One gold medal and a diploma later, Dahlia was able to focus full-time on swimming for team USA, and made her presence known for the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League. In early 2020, Dahlia was deemed a favorite to return to the Olympics, only to have the Games postponed for a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, the journey back will be difficult. The U.S. has seen an influx of youth in the 100 butterfly, with Claire Curzan and Torri Huske, among others, vying for an Olympic spot opposite Dahlia.

Most of Dahlia’s preparations for the Olympic Trials have taken place in her college town of Louisville. At the start of the pandemic, when pools were closed, Dahlia had an I-Pool installed in her backyard, giving her the ability to get in the water while she waited for pools to reopen.

While she was not able to swim as much, she remained consistent with her training. Land workouts varied from strength conditioning to playing Beat Saber, a virtual reality game. Since restrictions loosened and pools began to open up, Dahlia has been training with Louisville graduates as she works toward the U.S Trials.

Still, things are not fully back to normal, something which Dahlia pointed out.

“We weren’t able to access our facilities fully and be re-integrated back with the U of L team until after their college season ended and even then, I’m still not back in the weight room,” Dahlia said. “I’ve had to be creative. I have a full weight room in my garage right now so I can do just about everything there, but I’ve also started lifting at my physical therapy office, so that way I can have some eyes on me to make sure I’m lifting correctly.”

Strength is a key element that Dahlia mentioned. She is excited to showcase the strength she has built over the years. Dahlia has a consistent regimen going into Trials. She mentioned that going into this Olympics, things are different. Dahlia was graduating from Louisville shortly before Rio. Being a full-time professional swimmer has changed the way she approaches the sport.

“The three biggest differences are taking ownership over my schedule, in terms of when I’m traveling and also my recovery schedule,” Dahlia said. “The recovery side of things is much more important. I’m making sure that I’m scheduling my physical therapy appointments, massage and chiropractor each week, as well as doing my Normatec, foam rolling and other modalities at home. The last point is the mental side of things. It’s now my responsibility to do well and it’s not for the team, it’s only for me. It has to have a little bit more of a selfish mentality. That took an adjustment. It was definitely a mindset shift to know that I’m doing this for my family a little bit more than just my team for the NCAA.”

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Currently, Dahlia plans to compete in the 100 fly, 100 free and 50 free in Omaha. As the Olympic Trials loom, she has a clear focus.

“I haven’t allowed myself to think about Tokyo,” Dahlia said. “I want to qualify first. I’m focused just on Trials right now and then I’ll allow myself to be excited for the training camp in Hawaii and then on to Tokyo.”

Dahlia credits God for putting her in the position she is in now.

“The past year, I’ve been relying on a few different names of God that brought me a lot of comfort and peace…” Dahlia said. “I’m the oldest of six and I’ve always struggled to trust that God will provide. (God helped me in) moving out of the house, becoming a professional swimmer, trusting that I won’t have to worry about finances, because every year my stipends and my income (are) dependent upon my world ranking. It’s very volatile and so (it has helped to) not stress about that. And then also, not knowing what the last year would look in the pandemic, I have this supernatural peace that I can only attribute to God.”

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