Mark Meyer: Preparing for the Trials

By Justin Kischefsky, U.S. Naval Academy Assistant Sports Information Director

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, September 30. THE day before Induction Day at the Naval Academy can be a challenging one for incoming Plebes. Nerves, anxiety, stress, tension, concern, worry … these all are normal emotions for every soon-to-be Plebe to have less than 24 hours before beginning an arduous day and journey.

Mark Meyer shared those emotions with his fellow members of the Class of 2012 one day prior to Induction Day in the summer of 2008. However, his feelings of angst were not as much about what would be taking place the ensuing day on The Yard in Annapolis, Md., but instead on what was about to happen in a swimming pool in Omaha, Neb. Meyer was spending I-Day Minus One over 1,000 miles away from the Chesapeake Bay because he was competing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials alongside names such as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Ian Crocker and Aaron Peirsol.

Meyer was one of 84 swimmers to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the 200-butterfly event. Seeded 43rd in the field of swimmers, Meyer would place third in his heat and 36th overall with a career-best long-course (50-meter length pool) time of 2:01.91. Those accomplishments aside, Meyer was a little disappointed in the results.

"It was my best time, but I thought I could have gone faster," said Meyer. "I was probably a little nervous about everything going on."

Another one of those 84 qualifiers in the 200 fly was Mark's older brother, Adam, who at the time was a rising junior at Navy and a record-breaking member of the swimming team. Two years separated the brothers in both age and in class at the Naval Academy; on this day and in this race, just two lanes separated them.

"It was extraordinary swimming in the exact same heat as my brother at one of the most competitive swim venues," recalled Mark. "It gave me some added confidence with him by my side when we were in the ready room waiting for our heat to be called. The ready room was one of the most intimidating parts of the trials due to the atmosphere it created. It was surreal sitting there as the swimmers in each heat would lineup then disappear up the stairs leading to the pool deck. For many swimmers, it was the culminating moment in their athletic careers, so each group somberly left, focused on giving their best to the event. Silence filled the ready room because the athletes were visualizing their own race, but you could still hear the roar of the crowd (a total of 160,000 fans watched the 2008 trials in person) coming from the arena. The dim lights created a large contrast with the arena atmosphere with its bright lights and electrified crowd. Famous swimmers, like Michael Phelps, sat quietly and waited for their turn to walk up the ominous stairs.

"I felt blessed having someone to share this experience with because it seemed a little less intimidating. It was also special to swim in the same heat as Adam because it seemed normal racing him head-to-head. The sibling rivalry kicked in when the event started. I was seeded ahead of him so I had high hopes, but he ended up beating me (Adam would win the heat and place 19th overall)."

It was fitting that the brothers were placed into the same heat at the trials because it was the Meyer family that helped to fuel the interest in the sport for the siblings.

"Our dad was competing in triathlons when we were young and living in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho," said Meyer. "They were also offering triathlons for kids, so we wanted to do that. Adam and I were fine in the running and the bicycling parts of the races, but we were not very good in swimming."

Swim lessons for the boys soon followed and that led them to joining the local swimming team. They continued to compete on a team when the family briefly moved to Norfolk, Va., when Mark was in sixth grade and then to Bethesda, Md., two years later.

"Swimming started off as just an extra thing for me to do," said Meyer. "I liked it and became good at it, so I thought I might as well keep swimming. I never really thought it would lead me to college."

Meyer had previously received permission to miss Induction Day should he have advanced past the preliminary rounds of his event at the Olympic Trials. However, with his competition now complete, he caught an early morning flight to the East Coast and arrived on The Yard a little more than 24 hours after he had emerged from the pool following the conclusion of his race.

While his competing at the meet resulted in some hectic travel for him, his training for the meet also led to some added challenges for Meyer once he arrived in Annapolis. He had spent all of June in the swimming pool instead of working on other training methods geared toward helping him endure the rigors of Plebe Summer.

"I was in good swimming shape, but was not in good shape for Plebe Summer," said Meyer. "I think it became more of a physical challenge than it could have been for me had I not been so focused on preparing for the trials."

One advantage Meyer may have had over some of his other classmates was a familiarity with the Naval Academy and at least an idea of what to expect during Plebe Summer. In addition to his brother's presence, both of their parents were members of the Class of 1980 and an uncle graduated from Navy in 1982.

"My family never said they wanted me to come to Navy," recalled Meyer, who also made recruiting visits to Air Force, Columbia and Virginia Tech. "It was my decision to make. I felt Navy would provide a great sense of security for my life and my future. Receiving the opportunity to help protect the United States was also a big plus for me."

After being able to put Plebe Summer behind him, Meyer enjoyed a solid freshman year as a member of the swimming team. He totaled 11 wins in the two butterfly events and placed second — more often than not to Adam — 16 times during the year. He would go on to record three top-six finishes in individual events at the 2009 Patriot League Championship. Meyer put together a similar sophomore season, as he placed either first or second 20 times during the year and again tallied a trio of top-six placings at the 2010 league meet.

The first glimpse that Meyer would have an improved junior season took place during the summer of 2010. He posted a time of 2:02.09 while competing in the 200 fly at the U.S.A. Swimming Summer Nationals in Irvine, Calif. That clocking not only advanced him into the `C' final in the event, where he would place 21st, it also qualified him for a return trip to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.

"It was satisfying for me to get that qualifying time," said Meyer, who will be joined at the 2012 meet by both Adam and younger sister, Charlotte. "It was not my best time, but I am happy to know I am going again. I am safe; there is no extra pressure."

Meyer would carry over his strong summer performance into Navy's regular season as he posted victories in all but one of his 11 200 fly races and added five additional wins in the 100 fly event. He would go on to win the 200 fly, place second in the 200 individual medley and finish in third place in the 100 fly at the 2011 Patriot League Championship. Those efforts allowed him to garner his third First-Team All-Patriot League accolade in as many years.

"Mark has progressed well through three years of competition here," said Navy men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts. "He arrived as a nationally-ranked swimmer and has continued to improve. All of the credit for this should go to Mark as he stands out amongst his peers in terms of his overall dedication and commitment."

Besides winning his first individual event at the league championship in 2011, his season-best time of 1:44.80 in the final of the 200 fly was a fast enough qualifying time for him to receive an invitation to compete at the 2011 NCAA Championship in Minneapolis, Minn. He would go on to place 29th in the event at the meet.

"To me, the most telling aspect of Mark's entire NCAA appearance actually came in the swim he did to qualify for the meet," said Roberts. "It came on the third and final day of the Patriot League Championship. Additionally, it was the final session of the day after his having competed in several events in advance. His morning (preliminary heat) swim was okay, but was not close enough to earn him an invite to the NCAA meet. In typical Meyer fashion, he took the afternoon to rest and collect his thoughts and was able to come back and put together the best swim of his collegiate career, to date, in the final individual event of the meet. I think this experience and process just says a lot about Mark as a student-athlete."

"I was more nervous, swimming wise, for the NCAA Championship than I was the Olympic Trials," said Meyer. "I felt I had a good shot at making it out of the trial heats (at NCAA meet) and into one of the finals at night. I was hesitant and didn't swim as I wanted to. I definitely want to go to the championship again because I know I can do better this year than I did last year. Hopefully I can put together some solid NCAA-qualifying times early in the season instead of having it come down to one of the last meets of the season again."

In addition to looking to making a return trip to the NCAA Championship this season, Meyer also is preparing for his naval career after graduation in May. He hopes to follow in Adam's footsteps and become a pilot.

"I found myself to be very comfortable around those people I met in the aviation community during my summer blocks," said Meyer. "The people are great, they love their jobs and the whole atmosphere is where I want to be."

Meyer also has found himself in the early days of the new school year to be more focused on the responsibilities of being a leader, both within the team and the Brigade as a whole, now that he is a senior.

"It is a little different coming to school this year as a senior," said Meyer. "You are aware that there are no students in classes above you, so seniors are the people other Mids are going to turn to. It is a little intimidating, but it is also an opportunity to exercise leadership and gain experience."

Meyer has a busy final year ahead of him with many goals he hopes to reach both in and out of the Lejeune Hall swimming pool. But through it all, he has one overriding dream that keeps him going: the thought of making the U.S. Olympic Team. His summer of 2010 clocking made him the first Mid to qualify for multiple Olympic Trials (bettering Adam by a few weeks), but now he wants to become the first to make an Olympic Team. Already assured of wearing our nation's colors at the time of the trials in June of 2012 through his naval service commitment, he longs to also don the red, white and blue as he marches into London's Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in July.

"Making the U.S. Olympic Team is one of the highest honors to receive in this sport," said Meyer. "If I make the team, all of the hours I have put in will have paid off and been well worth it. If I make the team as an officer, it is a win-win situation. As a naval officer who also swims, I could be a role model for younger swimmers across the nation. Hopefully, they would want to emulate me in more ways than just becoming a swimmer, such as attending the Naval Academy, becoming an officer or joining the Navy."

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