Olympic Trials Notebook: Phelps, Schmitt and Grevers

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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Counting down the hours until Olympic Trials begin? Yes? Well then you’d probably enjoy seeing what Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt and Matt Grevers had to say in today’s press conferences.

None of these three will be in the water Sunday as the meet gets underway, but all three come in with hopes of defending individual gold medals won four years ago.

Michael Phelps

On pressures of Olympic Trials: “I think for us being as strong of a swimming country as we are, I think there’s probably more pressure at Trials than the Games. You know, we have almost 2,000 people here, and a maximum of 52 will make the team, so it’s a pretty small chance, and we could probably send people to the Olympics that could get third, and we could go one, two, three.”

On the spectacle of Olympic Trials: “I talked to Reece [Whitley] the other day when we were standing out on the pool deck, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is your first one!’ And he was like, ‘This place is amazing,’ and I was like, ‘Wait until the lights come on! That’s when everything really happens!’”

On son Boomer: “I get 30 photos a day [of him] when I’m out of town. I think I might have to just get a new phone to hold all the memory for the photos! It’s fun watching him grow up, like I’ve already—he’s only seven weeks, but I feel like just watching him gain weight and grow hair and see his eyes start to change color.”

On Katie Ledecky: “You can tell she is very goal oriented, and for me it brought me back to kind of what I was like way, way, way back in the day! She just — every time she gets in the water, it’s like a world record.”

On 2012 vs. 2016: “Going into 2012, I just didn’t want to do it. That’s it. That’s pretty much the only thing that needs to be said. I wasn’t happy doing what I was doing. I sure as hell wasn’t training, we all saw that. I tried to fake it, pretty much… I wanted to get in and out as fast as I could and really wanted nothing to do with it. I think I’m just happier, a lot happier doing what I’m doing now, and that’s why I’ve been able to be successful the last two years.”

On return to Omaha: “I think it’s cool having it here in Omaha. It’s definitely crazy with having the College World Series; it’s a pretty awesome sports town. I think that a lot of amazing fans that I’ve seen walking around or in the hotel that are super amped about being here, so Omaha seems like it’s been a great fit.”

Allison Schmitt

On her three different Trials: “2008 I was the kid that just wanted to get the Teddy Bear after I saw Michael [Phelps] bring the Teddy Bear back after making the Olympic Team. I wanted to also get the Teddy Bear! And then in 2012, left school to come to Baltimore and train, focused strictly on swimming, and everything went as planned and actually exceeded the expectations. And now back for my third one, and I feel like a five-year-old kid waking up for Christmas again.”

On her personal ups-and-downs: “I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past few years, and I think that any failure, any disappointment I’ve had, I’ve learned way more about myself than I have through any successes I’ve had. So as hard as those may have been, I’m grateful for them and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.”

On future plans: “I have a passion to destigmatize the negativity around mental health and depression, so I’m looking to go back to school so I can have the scientific background beside the experience that I’ve had so I can use the scientific background and my experience to help inform other people and to hopefully save a few lives.”

Matt Grevers

On men’s 100 back: “[David] Plummer has been around—I’ve been racing him since he was 10 years old. I think Murphy was born when we were 10 years old, but he’s been phenomenal for a while…I don’t want to say you can expect a world record, but I think it’s possible for all three of us to be right there. Who knows—Murphy is a young guy, and those young people drop a lot of time! Not saying the old people can’t, but who knows what can come from him. And David Plummer is hungry for it. He’s just missed the team a few times, and he really wants it, and I want to hold my title, so all of us are really hungry for the event.”

On three different Trials experiences: “2008 I still considered myself an underdog, and that was a very pure experience, as in I wanted to make the team but I didn’t have expectations to. So it was just a goal, but kind of a lofty goal. 2012 I thought I was supposed to make the team and win, and now it’s very similar to 2012. I want to make the team really bad, and I would say my preparation and thought process has been very similar to 2012. My expectations are very similar. Just because I’ve accomplished goals in the past doesn’t mean I don’t want to accomplish new ones now.”

On wife Annie Grevers’ pregnancy: “As soon as we found out Annie was pregnant, we knew instantly she was not going to go to Rio, if I did make the team. It’s just a risk not worth taking and even myself, as soon as I — if I make the team I would come back and quarantine myself and go through all the processes that you need to go through.”

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