{"id":264130,"date":"2017-06-30T20:28:04","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T03:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=264130"},"modified":"2017-06-30T20:28:04","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T03:28:04","slug":"one-year-later-matt-grevers-redeems-himself-and-smiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/one-year-later-matt-grevers-redeems-himself-and-smiles\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year Later, Matt Grevers Redeems Himself and Smiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder.<\/em><\/p>\n

For Matt<\/strong> Grevers<\/strong>, the pain of finishing third at Olympic Trials never went away. It didn\u2019t matter that it was an incredible field that included the eventual Olympic gold and bronze medalists. It didn\u2019t matter that his career r\u00e9sum\u00e9 was already pristine\u2014six Olympic medals, four of them gold.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t shake the fact that by coming up short he had let people down, his coaches, teammates and family that had invested so much in his swimming. And as he made a return to the competition pool, he harbored serious doubts in himself, his ability to return to the level he expected out of himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to say I didn\u2019t doubt it, but once your ego takes the hit like it did at Trials, it\u2019s hard to believe in yourself undoubtedly again,\u201d Grevers said. \u201cIf you have one little cold or have one little mess-up in the race, it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For years, just about everything went right for Grevers. He had missed the World Championships team in 2011 but rebounded to win Olympic gold in the 100 back a year later. He backed up that success with a World title in 2013 and a bronze at the Worlds in 2015.<\/p>\n

He had never experienced coming up short at Olympic Trials, the most pressure-packed meet in swimming that only comes around once every four years, until 2016.<\/p>\n

What came next was some serious soul-searching, and it led Grevers right back to the pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been through it all, and what I\u2019ve learned is that I love everything about this sport, and that\u2019s not just not having a desk job,\u201d he said. \u201cI just like the whole process of swimming, trying to be the best you can be in something that\u2019s not too subjective\u2014you get to see the scoreboard, see your time, you don\u2019t have to rely on teammates messing up plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Motivating Grevers to continue more than anything was his passion for representing the United States and swimming for what he called the \u201cgreatest team in the history of the world.\u201d But in his case this year, passion crossed over into need.<\/p>\n

Grevers knew that if he didn\u2019t make the World Championships team, he would have to seriously consider his future in the sport since financial opportunities would be hard to come by.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t make the team, I really had no choice but to at least add something else to my life, coaching or a more permanent job instead of just being able to swim,\u201d he said. \u201cI would have had to face the reality of, \u2018I need income,\u2019 and I would have had to get another job. I probably would have been done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now 32 years old, Grevers would have his chances to make the World Championships team in the 50 back and 100 back at U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. He had to dig down just to convince himself that the pressure wasn\u2019t there, that he was indeed having fun\u2014even if through gritted teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmile even though you\u2019re super nervous,\u201d Grevers said. \u201cI thrive off those nerves. I think the adrenaline rush washes away the lactic acid a little bit and kind of refreshes. A little pressure can be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ryan-murphy-\"

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

The pressure was at a maximum Friday night. He had missed making the Worlds team in the 50 back, finishing third. His last chance was in the 100, where he would swim next to the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, Ryan<\/strong> Murphy<\/strong>. On the other side of Murphy was 50 back national champion and rising star Justin Ress<\/strong>, and one lane over, 200 back Olympian Jacob<\/strong> Pebley<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It was going to be a challenge, one of the biggest of Grevers\u2019 career, to make this team. But he sure looked like he was having fun out there.<\/p>\n

Murphy and Ress both tend to take their races out hard, but in lane six, there was Grevers an arm\u2019s length ahead. He turned first in 25.39. Off the wall, he capitalized on the underwater kickout and came up ahead.<\/p>\n

And Matt Grevers touched the wall first. The time, 52.71, was not his best or even as fast as he thought he\u2019d need to swim. But it was enough, and Grevers was once again a national champion\u2014and a member of Team USA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt great to touch the wall and see a \u20181\u2019 next to my name again,\u201d Grevers said. \u201cDoesn\u2019t happen very often when racing Ryan Murphy. That\u2019s a bunch of prayers answers for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Around the pool deck, jubilation. Grevers had certainly been a sentimental favorite. The crowd roared the loudest when he was introduced. In the 30 minutes after his race, newly-qualified World Champs team members\u00a0Clark<\/strong> Smith<\/strong>, Olivia Smoliga<\/strong> and Cody Miller<\/strong> all expressed their delight that Grevers would be joining them in Budapest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not quite the underdog, but I guess people saw some of the pain I experienced in 2016,\u201d Grevers said. \u201cI think everyone didn\u2019t like to see that sort of pain on someone, so they were just trying to root for some happiness for the big guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"matt-grevers-\"

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

One year earlier, Grevers had implored Murphy to continue on the legacy of U.S. dominance in the 100 back. This year, the two will be racing alongside one another in Budapest after Murphy finished second to Grevers in the National final.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always looked up to Matt. He kind of was the standard for me when I was growing up. Great to race against that guy, and I\u2019m happy he\u2019s going to be on the Worlds team with me,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cAt the Olympics, he made sure that I knew that he was rooting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

This summer will mark Grevers\u2019 fourth World Championships and the seventh time he has represented the United States at the summer\u2019s biggest championship meet. But for the first time, he will do so with a new member of his support crew: Daughter Skylar<\/strong> Lea<\/strong>, born in November.<\/p>\n

Skylar arrived at a time when her father was still reeling from his third-place finish at Trials. He needed some perspective, and from her, he got it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwimming is your life when you\u2019re swimming,\u201d Grevers said. \u201cBeing the best is the most important thing, improving your stroke technique. Then you have something real, like your daughter being born. A life-changing moment\u2014an actual life-changing moment.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSwimming, sure, it can affect you that year financially, but a human, caring for her, seeing her grow, it\u2019s so much different. It just puts things in perspective and makes those lows go away. Maybe not completely\u2014there will always be a little scar from the 2016 Trials, but it\u2019s healing, and this race makes it heal more.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the first time in Budapest, Grevers will compete with Skylar watching, even if it\u2019s from several thousand miles away, back home in Arizona.<\/p>\n

He hopes very much that it won\u2019t be the last time, as he admits that he\u2019d love to go through 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I keep making the teams and doing alright,\u201d Grevers said. \u201cTraining is going awesome. No injury problems whatsoever. I\u2019m as healthy as I can be, and I think my mindset is as healthy as it can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, much can change in three years, and as much as he hopes, Grevers knows that there are no guarantees for him long-term.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s on the team bound for Budapest\u2014that much is certain.<\/p>\n

A little more than one year after he came up short at Olympic Trials, Matt Grevers got back onto the World Championship team. That night in Omaha, the pain in his eyes was clear. So this time, it was especially satisfying for the country to watch Grevers pump his fist and smile.<\/p>\n

Watch a post-race video with Matt Grevers after his win in the 100 back at U.S. Nationals:<\/strong><\/p>\n