When Isabelle Odgers got to the wall and looked up and saw her time, her eyes lit up.
The former USC All-American was going to get to wear a new swim cap.
Odgers took second in the 400 IM at the USA Swimming Short Course World Championship Trials and qualified for the Short Course World Championships in December in Beijing.
That new cap will have the American flag on it when Odgers represents her country internationally for the first time.
Odgers has been an All-American, Olympic Trials finalist and member of the National Team. But this is a new level after going 4:35.85.
“It is the first time I get to represent the U.S. internationally,” Odgers said. “It means the absolute world. It is the reason I have continued swimming as long as I have. The ultimate goal was to get a flag on my cap and rep the U.S. I am really excited, really grateful and really blessed.”
Odgers was a breaststroker in college and made the 2024 Olympic Trials finals in the 200 breaststroke, finishing seventh.
Now, she is the 400 IM, representing the U.S. with Alex Walsh in the event.
“It is very interesting that it is the 400 IM. It is something that I have always trained for. It is helpful for the 200 breaststroke and 200 IM. But I have not competed in it,” Isabelle Odgers said. “The 400 IM mentally was a struggle for a really long time.”
Things changed after she graduated college and continued as a professional.
“I swam it last year at the World Cup first stop and ended up swimming the 400 IM SCM in all three stops of the World Cup. It ended up being my best event on the circuit,” she said. “So we started focusing on the 400 IM. In SCM, I felt like it was my best event. It gave me more confidence going into trials that I had that experience in SCM.”
So why the success in an off event in an off distance?
“I have been trying to figure out why it works. I think, for me backstroke is a weakness, so getting that extra walls in the backstroke helps me a lot because it really cuts down on how much I have to actually swim the backstroke,” Isabelle Odgers said “The college experience with short course was really good for me, but I have always been better at long course, so this kind of marries the two in a way that has been beneficial for me.”
It has been a different training regimen. Odgers has gone from USC to Mission Viejo to San Diego.
“Training has definitely been interesting. The pro group that I was training with at Mission Viejo wasn’t able to train together. I finished up nationals this summer and it has been a rough year across the board,” she said. “I am training now in San Diego. My sister swam at UCSD and it has been really great.
“It has been more emphasis on freestyle. I was dealing with an injury last year, so we eased into the breaststroke. I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself in the breaststroke as my primary stroke. Working the IMs more takes the pressure off the breaststroke.”
Odgers was in and out of the water with injuries last year and she stayed focused and did more strength training, which has been a huge factor in her speed.
“My dad does my strength and conditioning program and going into the season, we did a lot of dryland and weights to build that strength, so when I got back into the pool, I was (ready to go),” she said.
Now, she is ready to go to Beijing for her first time in China and the first time with a Team USA cap.
“I am really looking forward to experience being on Team USA for a meet like this and see how that works,” she said.
This will be the next step in Odgers’ aim toward LA2028.
“I had always had 2028 in my mind and making the national team in 2024 helped me decide to continue going and see what other boundaries in the sport I can reach,” Isabelle Odgers said. “That is the goal right now as long as I am still enjoying it and feel like I have room for improvement.”