U.S. Olympic Trials: Texas A&M’s Kristen Heiss Says Goodbye To Omaha

OMAHA, Nebraska, July 7. KRISTEN Heiss, a rising senior at Texas A&M University, has been gracious enough to blog for Swimming World from time-to-time during the U.S. Olympic Trials as she competes at the meet. Today, she says goodbye to Omaha and a thrilling meet. She also writes about her harrowing ordeal in which she had a potentially life-threatening illness just weeks before competing in Trials.

Heiss also will be joining Swimming World this next year as an editorial intern with the web site, so we are excited to have her debut with us this week:

The 2008 Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska are officially over. The last week was filled with unbelievable excitement, anxiety, and of course, the fastest swimming in the world. After hearing and reading about the intense experiences of previous swimmers at Trials, I wasn't sure what to expect going in to the meet. I can say now that the feeling of competing in Omaha last week is one I will never forget. Regardless of whether an athlete was in contention to make the Olympic Team or not, just being able to swim at the US Trials is exhilarating and a great reward for the years of swimming the athletes have dedicated to themselves and the sport. Our trials meet is often faster than the Olympic Games are. Sometimes the time the third place person swam at the US trials would have also placed third at the Olympics, so just being able to compete in Omaha is a great accomplishment by itself.

This last week has certainly been memorable for me, and I feel truly honored and lucky to have been able to swim. A few weeks before Trials, I had been having problems in practice breathing and my training endurance had decreased dramatically. Finally, two weeks before Trials, the doctors discovered I had blood clots in my lungs. I spent four days in the hospital and began taking blood thinners immediately. Initially I was told that swimming was not an option for me for three months. To have to hear this news two weeks before Trials was devastating. After discussing the circumstances and my condition further with the doctors, I was told that it would actually be safe to swim as soon as I was released from the hospital if that was what I wanted to do. I have never been so thankful to have such wonderful teammates and coaches who were so supportive, and two weeks after being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, I walked into the Qwest Center to swim at the 2008 Olympic Trials.

I have to say that for me, the most memorable moment and something I will never forget as a swimmer is swimming in the finals of the 200 backstroke Saturday night. It was the first event of the night, and as we stood waiting to walk up the stairs onto the pool deck, I could hear the announcer saying, "And we are live from Omaha…let me hear you Omaha!" Then came the roar of 14,000 swimming fans, the lights went out on the pool deck, and the intro to "Welcome to the Jungle" started playing. To be honest, the last thing I remember thinking as I walked out was, "It doesn't get any better than this!"

I read that only .02% of swimmers in the US make the Olympic Team. I am not one of that .02%, but the last six days were an unbelievable experience for me. I swam next to the fastest swimmers in the world, and I saw World and American records fall. I watched some swimmers climb dejectedly from the pool after missing making the team, and I watched as swimmers were named to the 2008 Olympic roster each night. However, as I listened to the crowd chant "USA" as the 2008 Olympic Swim team marched out onto the deck Sunday night, all I could think was how proud and honored I was to have been a part of the 2008 Olympic Trials in Omaha.

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