FINA World Junior Championships Top Quotes: Day Four

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Check out quotes and audio interviews from athletes who posted impressive performances during the fourth day of the 2017 FINA World Junior Championships in Indianapolis.

“I knew if I stayed with them, I could come back faster than all of them. If I stayed with them that first 100 and I came back on them hard, I knew I would win.” — Daniel Roy (USA), after men’s 200 breast final (gold, 2:10.77), on his race strategy

“Ever since going that 59.4 on that relay, I really wanted to see if I could really make things happen in the 200 because I know that I brought it back the fastest out of anybody in that 100. And things just didn’t work out tonight. We still got the 1-2—if it was the Australian or anybody else who would have won, I would have been even more angry with the way things went.” — Reece Whitley (USA), after men’s 200 breast final (silver, 2:10.82)

“It’s obviously a friendship outside the pool. Nobody’s really friends with anyone on the pool deck. He put it the right way—probably competitors. And it’ll only intensify as we get older. There’s no beef at all. I’m proud of him for getting up there and really making a lot of progression over the last few years.” — Whitley, on his relationship and rivalry with Roy

“It’s been a tough year for me. I had two hip injuries, and I had mononucleosis for a month and a half, so honestly I didn’t even think I would do well at our Trials. It surprised me, and I think I would owe it the most to my coach and my team—they’ve really just supported me throughout it. Being here with Team Canada, I wouldn’t have been able to win it without them and all their support.” — Faith Knelson (CAN), after women’s 100 breast final (silver, 1:07.47)

“Coming into finals, my goal was to break three World Junior Records in one session. I was like, ‘Okay. I’ll take it.'” — Michael Andrew (USA), after men’s 50 back final (gold, 24.63 =WJR), 50 fly semi-final (qualified first, 23.27 WJR) and 50 free final (gold, 21.75 =WJR)

“I just wanted to get under 22… To do that, it was amazing. I’m kind of blown away by it. I didn’t really expect it from myself. My goal time was 21.75 exactly, but I’m speechless.” — Andrew, on his performance in 50 free

“I was really excited to race guys much older than me, much bigger than me—obviously, size doesn’t matter. I was really nervous about not making the final, but as soon as I made the final, I was relaxed, I was ready to go. Even if I didn’t make a medal, I’m just happy with my time. I’m satisfied. All the work that we put in this year, I couldn’t be happier right now.” — Will Davis (USA), after men’s 50 free final (fifth, 22.46)

“We’re obviously a little disappointed, but it was a great race for all of us. We all swam faster than we would have thought we would coming into this meet. If you told us that we were going to go 7:10 and break the World Junior Record by three seconds coming into the meet, you cant say ‘no’ to that.

“We’re really happy with how we swam. We know that they’re by one hundredth a better team tonight. Props definitely to the Hungarians—they swam a great race.” — Trey Freeman (USA), after men’s 800 free relay (USA won silver, 7:10.96)

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use