By Jeff Commings, SwimmingWorld.TV associate producer<\/i><\/p>\n
PHOENIX, Arizona, May 1.EIGHT days ago, I drove from Phoenix to Flagstaff to do an interview with Alexander Dale Oen. Though the interview was to come at the end of a very long work day, I was beyond excited to meet one of the fastest breaststrokers in history — and as it turned out, one of the nicest people I've ever encountered in this sport.<\/p>\n
Not five minutes after walking into the Douglas Wall Aquatic Center, I was greeted with a big smile and a wave from Dale Oen as he rested on the wall between repeats during a set. I've done a few of these interviews in my career, and usually athletes aren't extremely thrilled about having the media filming their every stroke during training. Alexander Dale Oen was not<\/i> one of those people.<\/p>\n
It still hurts to the very depths of me that the world will no longer see that smile. When I sat down to interview him — I found it very cool that I could call him “Alex,” instead of “Alexander” — I wasn't just talking to a fellow breaststroker. I was talking to someone who was excited about the promise of a future that reached well beyond the London Olympics. He talked about swimming at the Rio Games. He was half-serious about still competing in the Olympics in 2024, when he would have been 38.<\/p>\n
Before we did the actual interview, he mentioned that he heard I was going to swim at the Olympic Trials, and he asked what my lifetime best in the 100 breast was. I was a little embarrassed to say “1:02.46” to a guy who had gone 58.71 just eight months ago, but he seemed quite impressed. And when I told him I grew up in St. Louis, he said without missing a beat: “That's near that really big river … the Miss-something, right?” I can point out Norway on a map, but if you asked me anything else about his homeland, I would fail miserably. I've met some elite athletes that just want to get through the interview and go on with their lives. Alex was not<\/i> one of those people.<\/p>\n
Even before I heard of his death, I could remember every word of Alex's interview. He had immense respect for his rivals, and a genuine love for the sport. Now that he's gone, many of his words — spoken in near-perfect English — will resonate with me forever. I even remember how he had joked that he wanted to sign off his interview with a riff on the classic line from the movie Anchorman<\/i>: “You stay classy, Swimming World.” <\/p>\n
I was told of Alex's death this morning just after workout at Phoenix Swim Club. I had just gotten out of the shower, and after I shook the notion that this was a prank, my mind went to the news that Alex had his cardiac arrest in the shower. As an athlete, I can attest that we all feel invincible. Alex's death will forever soften that mindset for me. None of us is Superman.<\/p>\n
Though a shadow will likely be cast over the final of the 100 breast in London, I know Alex will be looking down on all of us that day. His big smile will shed a little more light on the world and lift our spirits.<\/p>\n
I am honored to have met Alex before he left us. I'll never forget him.<\/p>\n