{"id":154042,"date":"2015-09-23T18:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-09-24T01:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=154042"},"modified":"2015-09-24T10:14:22","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T17:14:22","slug":"breeja-larson-an-all-american-sweetheart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/breeja-larson-an-all-american-sweetheart\/","title":{"rendered":"Breeja Larson: An All-American Sweetheart"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tera Bradham, Swimming World Intern<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI know what it is to be a struggling college student. I\u2019ve been there,\u201d she nods.<\/p>\n

She really has been there. Growing up in a family with six sisters, Breeja Larson<\/strong> never knew what it was to have excess, even once she was a student-athlete in college.<\/p>\n

\"larson2\"<\/a>

Photo Courtesy: Breeja Larson<\/p><\/div>\n

Now that she\u2019s a professional athlete, she has a little more leeway. Yet instead of spending her paycheck on herself, she gets\u00a0balloons for her coach\u2019s induction into the Coaching Hall of Fame and makes blankets for her professors.<\/p>\n

Most recognize Larson as the American record holder in the 50 and 100 breaststroke, or as part of the Olympic Gold medal-winning 4×100 medley relay. More casually, some recognize her as the six-foot machine towering over her competitors, with ripped muscles and a classy smile on her face.<\/p>\n

\"breeja-larson-mesa-2015-arena-club-cup-4\"<\/a>

Photo Courtesy: Kara Sekenski<\/p><\/div>\n

But most would not recognize Larson as the girl who volunteers to sew her teammates\u2019 suits when the seams unravel, who steps down from the block to hug her competitor who just false started, and who offers stroke advice to teammates on a daily basis. Larson\u2019s generosity is a part of who she is, as is her selflessness, great sense of humor, and caring heart.<\/p>\n

\"Vanessa<\/a>

Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold\/Aringo Photos<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWherever I am in the world, I need to present myself with dignity and respect,\u201d Larson asserts. \u201cFirst, I represent myself and my family, then I represent Texas A&M, and now, I represent the United States of America. That can be intimidating, but it is such an honor. I always want to be seen as a wholesome role model who is respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larson may be a sweetheart outside of the pool, but when the buzzer signals a race, she transforms into a formidable competitor. Training with the Texas A&M women\u2019s team under head coach Steve Bultman,<\/strong> Larson certainly is not at a loss to assert her competitive nature.<\/p>\n

Her teammates comprise one of the best breaststroke groups in the country, including Bethany Galat,<\/strong> who placed tenth at NCAAs in the 100 breast as a freshman, Jorie Caneta,<\/strong> a recent transfer and former Junior Pan Pac member in the 100 breast, Esther Gonzalez,<\/strong> the Mexican record holder in the 200-meter breast, Sycerika McMahon,<\/strong> an Irish breaststroke Olympian, Franko Jonker,<\/strong> a sub-minute 100 breaststroker who represented South Africa at the World University Games last summer, and Ashley McGregor,<\/strong> a Canadian whose 200 breast time would have placed her third at American Olympic Trials in 2012. Occasional additions to the group include 400 IM national champion Sarah Henry<\/strong> and freshman Pan Pacific team member Sydney Pickrem,<\/strong> among other dangerous Aggie IMers.<\/p>\n

\"Ashley<\/a>

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

With such steady competition in practice, it could be easy to let competition get the better of her. But instead, Larson hosts potluck \u201cbreaststroke group\u201d breakfasts at her house to strengthen the bonds between teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s competitive, and then there\u2019s overreacting,\u201d Larson explains. \u201cJust be happy for teammates when they push you or achieve something great. Once you join a team, you\u2019re part of a family, so respect that family.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Olympics rapidly approaching, Larson says she wouldn\u2019t want to be training with anyone else. When asked if she had anything to say to aspiring swimmers, Larson thought for a moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be intimidated by us (Olympians). We\u2019re just swimmers who have been to a different meet,\u201d she says emphatically. \u201cIf you\u2019re racing us, we both qualified for the same meet. The pool is just as wet, the pool is just as long, we both have worked hard, we both know how to race. You have every bit as equal a chance to make the team as we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"breeja-larson-\"<\/a>

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEasy for me to say, I know,\u201d she laughs. \u201cBut it\u2019s true. And that\u2019s exactly what Steve told me before I was in that position at Olympic Trials three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

That moment three years ago catapulted Larson to the world stage that is currently her stomping ground. But it wasn\u2019t always that easy.<\/p>\n

When she joined\u00a0Arizona Mesa Aquatics her senior year of high school (where a scholarship program enabled her to join the club team), she went from four hours of swimming practice a week\u00a0to four hours of training a day. The transition was brutal, but that little girl who cartwheeled across her lawn dreaming of becoming an Olympic gymnast still lived somewhere in the core of the woman who now\u00a0swam laps in a pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just knew I was going to work really hard and go to the Olympics,\u201d Larson says of her childhood. \u201cWhen I found out I was too tall to be a gymnast, it was like finding out Santa Claus wasn\u2019t real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little did she know that the path of life would take her to the Olympics through another avenue. One who had always loved weight training, the supplemental pool training she found at Texas A&M combined with her work ethic to launch Larson to an NCAA victory her sophomore year, which she defended and retained each year of her collegiate career.<\/p>\n

\"larson1\"<\/a>

Photo Courtesy: Breeja Larson<\/p><\/div>\n

Still continuing to improve each year, Larson claims she isn\u2019t anywhere close to tiring of the sport that has given her so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m probably going to swim until I can\u2019t anymore,\u201d she chuckles.<\/p>\n

Her journey to success is a unique road full of ups and downs, laughter and tears, victories and losses, surprises and twists in the plot, but Breeja Larson\u2019s blossoming career has only just begun. The complexities of her story only demonstrate the power of the human will and the generosity of a sport that gives to any who are willing to receive the lessons it has to offer.<\/p>\n

In the upcoming months and years, one thing is certain: Breeja Larson is one swimmer for whom you will want to shout and cheer.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tera Bradham, Swimming World Intern \u201cI know what it is to be a struggling college student. I\u2019ve been there,\u201d she nods. She really has been there. Growing up 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