The Good, The Bad and the Ugly: Post-Race Comments at World Champs, Day Five

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BARCELONA, Spain, August 1. THE top athletes continue to make a stop in the mixed zone in the Palau Sant Jordi to talk to Swimming World and other media outlets at the world swimming championships to talk about their races on day five of the eight-day meet.

Enjoy these quotes in their original and unedited forms!

Quotes from prelims

Daniela Schreiber, Germany, 100 free heat

“I am very very disappointed. This was just embarrassing. I can’t really blame myself either, because I have never trained that well before, and leading up to this meet, I hadn’t fallen sick either, so my coach and I will have to see if maybe we did something wrong preparing for this meet. The result is just very disappointing and I am not satisfied with it at all.”

Britta Steffen, Germany, 100 free heat

“I’m qualified for the semi-final and of course it would be great to qualify for the final, but everyone else can swim too so if I don’t make it into the final it’s of course sad but I will try everything to make it. I swam all out. I can’t afford to save something for the semi like someone like Cate Campbell. She can do a 53.2 easily, but I am not able to do that. I swam full power and we’ll see how it turns out this afternoon. The big names only swim the prelims semi-professional so no one can tell how it will go later. I might be the one between place eight and ten in the world who could make it to finals, and we’ll see if I manage that this afternoon. I went into the race thinking, ‘I’m just going to show everything that I can do’ and I think it went great. It helped that I was ahead of the field for the entire time and it is not going to be that way this afternoon and we will see what I will make out of that situation. This meet has been a lot of fun for me so far, because I am enjoying every race individually. I had to take a lot in the past years, so I am used to not being blessed with success. I am already seeing this prelim as a success because it is the third-best time I’ve swam since the full body suits were banned and not everyone can just swim a time under 54 seconds, so today I am satisfied and proud.”

Shannon Vreeland, USA, 100 free heat

“I was really happy with my swim. It was right around my trials prelim swim so hopefully tonight I’ll be a little bit faster. Hopefully we can both make it into the top eight. I’d like to make the final. I just broke 54 for the first time this year. I started out a 54.8 at the beginning of the season, so 53 was exciting and if I can get down a 53-low, around what I was in the relay, that would be really exciting and I would be perfectly happy with that. I’d like to make the final and do the best I can.”

Missy Franklin, USA, 100 free heat

“I am so happy with that time — really surprised by it, actually. I didn’t think I was going to be that fast this morning so I am really happy with that. Shannon got in eighth and I’m really happy with that too. I think hopefully we’ll both have a really good shot at making finals tonight.”

On her time being better than in her Olympic final
“I definitely didn’t expect that but I felt really great. It was awesome racing Cate Campbell and Shannon and I were joking earlier that we had to fly 5000 miles to swim next to each other again.”

On her chances in the final
“It’s going to be very tough. I’ve already said that if I can make the podium, I’ll be over the moon happy. I missed it last summer as well so it’s really a goal to get on the podium, hopefully get a best time. I would be really happy with a 52 if I could get one, but we’ll definitely see and if that puts me on the podium, then that’s awesome. If it doesn’t, then that’s okay too.”

Ryan Lochte, USA, 200 back heat

“This morning’s swim was a prelim swim. There’s not really much to say about it. I got a lane for semi-finals so I’m alright. I feel fine now, I think I just had to shake the cobwebs off for the first two days, but it feels good to just step on the blocks and race the best people in the world.”

Pedro Oliveira, Portugal, 200 back heat

“That was not good. That was not it. My last competition was seven months ago and you put in the work and it just doesn’t show. You live and you learn. I’m just going to go back into training and hope for better days. What else can you do?”

Yannick Lebherz, Germany, 200 back heat

“I didn’t notice that I was ahead of Lochte for a while. I was good in my lane and focused on my own race. The race was good. It was the fastest prelim time I ever swam at a World Championships. My last 50 wasn’t that good, but up until that point I did okay.”

Tyler Clary, USA, 200 back heat

On racing an event he is the Olympic champion in
“It does kind of take the pressure off in one way. I am the Olympic Champion but at the same time, it loads you up with all sorts of other pressure as the eyes are on you. It’s a little bit of a trade-off, but like I said, at this point, I am only aiming to better myself as a swimmer and obviously the big goal is Rio. I felt like all of my details were solid and the last 50 was a bit of a shut-down so I’ll be good for tonight I think.”

Micah Lawrence, USA, 200 breast prelim

“That was a great swim for me. I just wanted to go out and have fun this morning because I haven’t gotten to swim yet so that was nice.”

On waiting to compete
“It just builds and builds. Everyone gets so excited and everyone is swimming fast and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I want to do that!’ It’s so awesome.”

Breeja Larson, USA, 200 breast prelim

On gearing up for the race
“Just a lot of mental visualisation and just trying to keep the confidence up.”

On her time
“I’m happy with it. I kind of took it easy this morning just to make sure I’m fast enough if I got back. I’m super stoked after watching Micah Lawrence, I’m pretty sure that was a best time for her. She was awesome.”

On how she is going to prepare for tonight
“Lots of rest, visualization and just keeping positive thoughts.”

Andrew Willis, Great Britain, 200 breast prelim

“I hadn’t swum yet so I really wanted to get out there. I was probably a bit nervous about this morning. The usual, really, first-race nerves.”

Kevin Cordes, USA, 200 breast prelim

“It was a good swim. I kept it long and controlled and I’m feeling pretty good.”

On gearing up for the race
“Definitely more confident. I feel better with my stroke for this 200. I’m setting my kick up so it feels pretty good. I’m just going to get more rest.”

Bernard Johnson, USA, 200 breast

“I cut it a little close, a little bit sloppy but good enough to make it tonight so that’s all that matters.”

On a potential Team USA domination in tonight’s semis and finals
“I don’t know if I can answer that but I think everyone’s pretty happy with how we’re swimming as a group so hopefully we’ll keep it up tonight.”

On prepping for tonight
“I’ll look at some of the things I didn’t do great and try to improve those.”

Michael Jamieson, Great Britain, 200 breast prelim

On waiting to find out if he qualified for semis
“It was close. I’m only in by .2 but it doesn’t matter now; it’s finished. I swam nearly four seconds quicker than that a month ago so there should be plenty more to come tonight.”

USA, Women’s 4×200 free relay prelim

On support from the team
Jordan Mattern: It’s always great to look up and see our teammates, wear the flag and represent our country. We just want to put our teammates and ourselves in a good position tonight to have a good race.

On getting a relay spot
Karlee Bispo: There is one spot really up for grabs. We’ll see what the coaches decide and really just go with whatever they think is best for the team. We’re just happy to be here and represent USA, and one swim is all you can ask for really. It’s a great experience.”

Quotes from finals

Jimmy Feigen, USA, 100 free final

“I feel great. This whole Worlds experience started off a bit shaky, but I think it’s coming together in the end. Nathan and I have a long history of first and second and I’m really glad that we are both there next to each other, I had him for support for this entire meet. He’s been a great teammate. I can’t say enough nice things about him, especially as he is standing next to me right now. I didn’t know what I was doing here. I was a rookie in every sense of the word. I got to talk to Jack Roach, one of our National Team coaches, and he put a lot of things into perspective for me, everyone told me to put the relay race behind me and I think I did just that tonight.”

On what Jack Roach told him
“He told me to swim smarter. I needed to be more prepared than I was. He did a great job rehearsing me and coaching me through this time.”

Cammile Adams, USA, 200 fly final

“I think it was just a great learning experience. I am definitely not as happy with my time as I was in the semis, but that was just some more international experience for me after London last summer and I’m just happy to be here.”

On Mireia Belmonte Garcia having the crowd behind her
“It was awesome for her, she definitely had the home field advantage. It’s just so great to have so much support out here and that’s what makes swimming so exciting.”

Katinka Hosszu, Hungary, 200 fly final

“I’m really happy with my swim. The field was really fast, it was faster than the Olympics final. My morning swim yesterday was a bit rough, prelims and semis are always a little harder when you’re tired. But you just want to put it behind you and you just want to race and that’s what I did. I’m really happy with this time. I haven’t been under 2:07 for about three years.”

Kevin Cordes, 200 breast semi final

“It’s disappointing, but I have got to learn from it and use it as motivation. I need to remember that feeling of getting out-touched and missing a final and let it make me work harder in the pool.”

Ryan Lochte, USA, 200 IM final

“It feels good considering my training this year hasn’t really been there. So, I was glad I was able getting a win out of this championships.”

“My goggles fogged up, so I couldn’t really see the rest of the field. When the freestyle came, I was just hoping that I was in first.”

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