Rhianna Williams: What It Takes to Be A Dual-Sport D1 College Athlete

Rhianna Williams, Utah Track and Field and Cross Country Sept. 10, 2014 in Salt lake City, Utah. (Steve C. Wilson/University of Utah)

Photo Credit: University of Utah Athletics

By Delaney Lanker, Swimming World College Intern

Rhianna Williams has been swimming since she was eight years old, running track since she was a sophomore in high school and when she committed to the University of Utah she thought she had to let one of her lifetimes loves go.

“I loved the school and when I visited,” Williams said. “I liked the coaches and thought I’d fit in well with the team.”

Williams will be starting her junior year at the University of Utah this fall and is a health promotion and education major with a minor in nutrition. She originally committed to Utah to run track, but after a year outside of the pool, Williams decided she wanted to get back in the water.

“After freshman year, I got a better idea on my schedule and time commitments were for class, practice and everything else,” Williams said. “And I found that I could fit in swimming.”

Williams didn’t have to pick between her love of two sports, but it takes a lot to be a college athlete and being a two-sport college athlete takes heightened responsibility and dedication.

Organization

Part of the William’s swimming and indoor track seasons overlap, so organizing practice times, competitions and school schedule takes coordination between Williams and all of her coaches.

“Working with a multi-sport athlete is exciting, but requires a great deal of communication and cooperation,” Utah track coach Kyle Kepler said. “You really have to listen to the athlete about how they feel on a daily basis and use that information to create and adjust workouts.”

Williams is a sprinter in both sports, running the 200 and 400 meter dashes and swimming the 50 and 100 freestyle events. This helps Williams make the most of the six to eight hours a week she spends in the water because she doesn’t need much aerobic work compared to distance swimmers.

“It is very impressive how much she trains. It’s important that we do everything we can in the limited hours that we work with her,” Utah’s swimming sprint coach, Jonas Persson said.

But not only does Williams need to balance two different sports, she has to stay on top of her school work as well.

“The hardest part is keeping on top of my schedule to make sure I get my school work done,” Williams said. “Some parts of the year both sports overlap so if I was traveling a lot I was making sure I wasn’t getting overwhelmed with anything and getting things done that I needed to.”

Photo Courtesy: Rhianna Williams

Hardwork

Taking a year off from the pool and just training for track her freshman year has created some challenges for Williams.

“Rhi lost some of her strength and flexibility in her upper body and especially her shoulders, so we’ve had to work on getting that back, which been a challenge,” Persson said.

But even with this challenge Williams excelled in the pool and in the track this past season. Both her Pac 12 Championship swim meet and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor track championships fell on the same weekend, and Williams competed in both. She swam the first two days of Pac 12s, ran the next 1.5 days and came back the last day of Pac 12s for the 400 free relay. Williams performed well at both competitions and even broke Utah’s team record for the indoor 400 meter dash.

Williams has been juggling her swim and track schedules for years, so she said she is used to the busyness and hard work.

“It is very difficult and time-demanding to do any sport in college at the highest level,” Kepler said. “She does two and seems to do them with a quiet confidence and ease that you don’t see from many student athletes who do a single sport or event.”

Rhianna Williams - 2014 Pac-12 Championships (2)

Photo Courtesy: University of Utah Athletics

Passion

Williams’ passion is what drives her ability to make it all work. The love for competition, racing and teamwork, is why Williams juggles multiple schedules day in and out; she didn’t want to have to pick between two sports she loved.

“What makes her so special is Rhi’s willingness to race,” Persson said. “She likes to race hard, which makes her overcome any weaknesses that she’s got from doing two sports.”

This love for racing and speed is carried on the track as well.

“She is not a big ‘rah rah’ kid, but you never have to worry about the type of effort she will give or the energy she brings with her to competition,” Kepler said.

It is not easy being a dual sport college athlete but Williams said that she plans on continuing to compete in both sports as long as her schedule allows it.

“I’m lucky that all of my coaches have been supportive and helped me figure out schedules so I can get the most out of both sports and all of my time,” Williams said. “It’s fun being part of two teams and being able to compete for both.”

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Cheree Liebowitz

8 years ago

Wow! What an amazing student athlete. Any future employer would be lucky to have such a dedicated, organized, hard working employee. Keep up the great work!

Hillary Fontenot

8 years ago

What an amazing athlete!