Olympic Trials Nerves: U.S. Olympians Give Their Take On The Pressure-Packed Meet (Video)

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Ask anyone who has competed at an Olympic Trials and they will tell you that it is unlike any other meet. The crowd is bigger, the deck is louder, and the stakes are much, much higher. The best of the best are getting an opportunity to race for their Olympic spots, with only 2 ultimately qualifying in each event (6 for relays). There is no shortage of competition at these meets, and with over 1,400 already qualified following this summer expect 2016 Trials to be the biggest yet (1,800 athletes qualified in 2012).

The below video, part of NBC’s “Race For Gold” series, features several U.S. Olympians sharing their experience battling nerves at Olympic Trials, including Natalie Coughlin, Cullen Jones, Micah Lawrence, and Connor Jaeger. Keep in mind these are individuals who qualified for the Olympics. They made it through the madness of Trials and went on to compete for the United States at the Olympic Games. All have appeared in an Olympic final, and Jones was part of that epic 400 Free Relay in Beijing. Coughlin is tied as the winningest female U.S. Olympian with 12 medals to her credit. But despite their credentials, even they will admit that the road was filled with nerves, doubts, and incredible emotion.

Distance star Connor Jaeger puts the meet into perspective, explaining “[In swimming] There’s no March Madness, there’s no Final Four, Frozen Four; Olympic Trials is our thing.” This meet is, for many, the culmination of four years of hard work and dedication to their craft. The stakes may feel so high that it could cause anyone to do crazy things, such as winning your heat of the mile, recording a best time, and then continuing to swim an extra 100 meters as Connor did at his first Olympic Trials in 2012.

And even if the swim goes as planned, not everything may follow the script. After making the 2012 team, Micah Lawrence could only stare in shock at the scoreboard. “I didn’t even go and hug my coach,” Lawrence notes in the video, “and that’s what everyone is supposed to do.”

“I’ve got to tell you it is the most nerve-racking meet I’ve been to. Anyone in the top eight could be a medalist in the Olympic Games,” says Cullen Jones, describing the moments before the 50 meter freestyle final. “I was standing in the ready room, and the ground was shaking, because it was 50 free and everyone was so excited. You just hear this roar and you feel like a gladiator walking out.”

Rather than adding to the drama, these swimming superstars experiences should be comforting. Nerves are normal. Everyone, even the elite of the elite, has feelings of self-doubt or nervousness. In a meet where all you can really expect is the unexpected, knowing that nerves will be part of the equation can help you better prepare for the meet.

Although Cullen Jones admits he “psyched himself out” before the finals of the 2008 50 free finals, he went on to win the event at the 2012 Trials and come away with a silver medal at the London Games. Connor Jaeger went on to finish sixth in the 1500 meter final in London and this past summer placed second at 2015 Worlds en route to setting an American record (14:41.20). Micah Lawrence and Natalie Coughlin both competed on the international stage this summer with performances that rank them #1 among Americans in the 200 breaststroke and 100 backstroke, respectively.

Olympic Trials may be the most pressure-packed meet to come around every 4 years, but that doesn’t need to be a bad thing. This is a meet that will hold great lessons and, ultimately, help lead swimmers to a better understanding of themselves and how to react when those nerves do show up.

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Doug Senz

8 years ago

Olympic Trails ????

Kathy Neville Lemay

8 years ago

Trails or trials?