{"id":329304,"date":"2018-09-16T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-16T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=329304"},"modified":"2019-03-19T09:41:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T16:41:30","slug":"abrahm-devine-stepping-out-as-elite-imer-and-gay-swimmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/abrahm-devine-stepping-out-as-elite-imer-and-gay-swimmer\/","title":{"rendered":"Abrahm DeVine Stepping Out as Elite IMer and Gay Swimmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Before he came to Stanford in the fall of 2015, Abrahm DeVine<\/strong> never saw himself becoming a nationally-relevant swimmer. But at the end of that first year, he \u201cblew my times out of the water\u201d at the Pac-12 championships and qualified for the NCAA championships, only to be intimidated by what he saw on the national level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was shocked by how fast it was. I never paid close attention to NCAAs or anything like that,\u201d he said. \u201cYou look up to those seniors and those really fast guys as another animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Very quickly, DeVine became one of those pace-setters that another na\u00efve freshman might look to as an animal. He qualified for the 400 IM A-final at his first NCAA championships, and a few months later at Olympic Trials, he finished ninth in the prelims of the 400 IM, and after scratches, he had the opportunity to swim in the final that night.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreshman year, Scott<\/strong> (Armstrong<\/strong>) was my coach back then, and I think he saw a lot in me and really pushed me a lot. We also had a really, really good 400 IM group with Curtis<\/strong> (Ogren<\/strong>) and Max<\/strong> (Williamson<\/strong>),\u201d DeVine said. \u201cI just started getting confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"abrahm-devine-\"

DeVine after qualifying for the 2017 World Championships — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the next two years, DeVine\u2019s career took off, and his momentum from that breakthrough freshman year snowballed. Over the next two years, he would qualify for the World Championships and then the Pan Pacific Championships as the second-place finisher in the 200 IM at Nationals behind Chase<\/strong> Kalisz<\/strong>. In March of 2018, he won his first individual NCAA championship in the 400 IM\u2014by more than three seconds.<\/p>\n

But even as he experienced those dramatic highs, the seeming ability to do no wrong in the pool, DeVine found himself questioning whether he even belonged in college athletics or on his team at Stanford.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a gay athlete. There aren\u2019t too many of us, so when I came out to my college team, that was a really tough time for me,\u201d DeVine said.<\/p>\n

In swimming circles, DeVine is correct: There are very few openly gay swimmers competing on the elite level. Even as modern society has become more accepting of the LGBT community, DeVine was worried how his teammates would react to his announcement and if they would still accept him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up gay in any sport is definitely tough,\u201d DeVine said. \u201cThere\u2019s a culture that is created in a lot of sports where being gay is an insult. It\u2019s something that gets tossed around and makes you not want to go to practice or not want to hang out with the team or be a part of the team.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Before he came out to his team, DeVine told Williamson, who had graduated but still lived nearby. In his former teammate, he found care and support. \u201cHe did a lot for me and was really there for me as a friend,\u201d DeVine said.<\/p>\n

And when he told the rest of the team, DeVine quickly found that his apprehensions were unfounded. His Stanford teammates and coaches received the news warmly and were only upset to hear that he had been struggling with the decision to come out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember that being a pretty emotional time, and just feeling my whole team wrap around me and feeling that love in a place where I hadn\u2019t really felt it, that was definitely pretty special for me,\u201d DeVine said. \u201cJust seeing them kind of prove me wrong was definitely special, something I\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

More from Abrahm DeVine:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What are some of your biggest interests outside the pool?<\/strong><\/em>
\nMy parents, sometime last year or the year before, picked up ukulele. We just have a ton laying around the house\u2014I don\u2019t know they got such a big collection going so quickly. When I was bored, I would pick it up when I was home. I started playing, practicing, learning some songs. Since then, I\u2019ve been pretty into it, so I\u2019ve been trying to learn that, figure that out.<\/p>\n

What do you want to do after you finish swimming?<\/strong><\/em>
\nIt\u2019s a question I ask myself every day. I really am kind of intrigued by startups. I like that culture of working in a small team with a common goal. Honestly, I\u2019m not really sure. I would like to do something with the environment, and it would feel really good to make an impact in that realm. Honestly, I haven\u2019t thought too much about it since swimming has been going well, so I\u2019ve been focusing on what it really means to swim after college.<\/p>\n

At Olympic Trials, when you finished ninth in the 400 IM and got scratched into the final, what was that experience like, and what did you learn from that experience?<\/strong><\/em>
\nOlympic Trials was just a fun meet for me. I kind of knew I wasn\u2019t going to make the Olympics, so I was just going for fun. I had had a really good short course season, and I knew I was a good long course swimmer. I was just having a good time. When I heard I got ninth, I wasn\u2019t too bummed. I just put so little pressure on myself at that meet. Making the final was just really cool. I had never swum at a meet at that level. In terms of what I learned, just to be confident in myself and swim my own race. I knew I wasn\u2019t really going to be making the team, which should be the goal of Olympic Trials, but I knew I could still put up a race and do my best.<\/p>\n

\"abrahm-devine-\"

DeVine after winning the 2018 NCAA title in the 400 IM — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2017, what was it like racing in a pressured situation like that (at Nationals) with a chance to make the team?<\/em><\/strong>
\nThat summer when I made Worlds, that was a huge surprise for me. I didn\u2019t really feel the pressure, but I knew to trust myself and my training and put together the best race that I could, and it just came together really, really well, and I put up a really great swim. I remember from the race, I didn\u2019t think for a second that I was about to make the Worlds team. This past summer, I felt that pressure to repeat that performance. I\u2019ve been swimming since I was 10, and treating a meet like it\u2019s any other meet is important to swim your best race.<\/p>\n

Do you feel like you\u2019re still learning how to race internationally? Do you think you\u2019re as confident in a situation like that?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI still haven\u2019t put up a best time internationally. Probably I\u2019m still learning, even if maybe I don\u2019t want to think that. To me, I feel like I am a pretty confident racer and performer. It just hasn\u2019t fully happened for me internationally. Maybe I should take a step back and see why things aren\u2019t quite clicking. I still feel comfortable racing in Japan or Budapest or wherever.<\/p>\n

When you have gone on these National Team trips, do you feel like you have meshed well with the team?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI would say so. I\u2019ve made some good friends . (Stanford and Pan Pacs teammate) Grant<\/strong> (Shoults<\/strong>) and I are good friends, so it was definitely fun going with him. I\u2019ve definitely made some good friends. Especially this last year, I really liked the group a lot. I knew a few more people going in and some people who I knew that hadn\u2019t made it the previous year. It was tons of fun, great experience, and I really liked the team.<\/p>\n

How is it easier the second time, knowing what to expect and knowing more people?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe second time, I didn\u2019t so much feel like a newcomer. It was my third year on the national team, so I started to feel like more of an expected member of the team, which is kind of cool.. Everyone who\u2019s new on the team has to do those rookie skits, so not having to do that, just watching them, it was definitely a different feeling. The only difference is how I felt about it and approaching it differently. I just felt more comfortable. I felt like everyone knew who I was this year, whereas maybe last year that wasn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n

\"abrahm-devine-\"

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

Being in your last year at Stanford, what sense of responsibility to the team and finality of the situation do you feel going into this season?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThis season should be pretty good. I think we have our strongest team since I\u2019ve been here, so that\u2019s exciting. Our freshmen are looking really, really good. I think our senior class is really, really strong. I think our medley relay right now is looking to be all seniors, which is really cool. It\u2019s just exciting. I want to finish my last short course season out on a good note, and I think my whole class is on board with that, too. Everyone just wants to finish really strong. It\u2019s not uncommon for seniors to start looking ahead to the future a little bit, to what their job\u2019s going to be and their life afterwards and lose focus on swimming, and I\u2019m just not feeling that from my class. I think we\u2019re all pumped and ready to go, really attack this year.<\/p>\n

You have said how easy it is to swim as part of a college team. How do you get excited about making it about yourself?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThat\u2019s pretty tough. I wasn\u2019t really sure if I was going to keep going after college, just because I think it is going to be really hard. I like going to dual meets\u2014it really does feel like a team sport, which is a ton of fun. I think I might struggle a little bit with focusing on myself and sitting on the side while everyone else is going to a dual meet and Pac-12s and NCAAs. Those meets are a ton of fun, and I don\u2019t think that experience can be replicated going to Pan Pacs or Worlds. People are looking out for themselves. It will be different, but I think I will look for ways to make it fun and exciting. Instead of being scared of how different it will be, I\u2019m going to try to find things to get excited for.<\/p>\n

Trying to make the Olympics does sound pretty exciting.<\/strong><\/em>
\n(Laughs) That\u2019d be cool.<\/p>\n

Do you think you will be a little bit sentimental as you get through some of these big dual meets and then Pac-12s and NCAAs?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI\u2019m sure it will be a little bit sad. All six of us in my class, no one dropped out over the course of the four years. We\u2019re just really tight as a class. It will certainly be sad to continue on without those guys. I might get a little bit teary-eyed. Who knows?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder. Before he came to Stanford in the fall of 2015, Abrahm DeVine never saw himself becoming a nationally-relevant swimmer. But at the end of that first year,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":329309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,6,17,61052,7],"tags":[32825,25490,25838,59679,26708,56805,40488,12243,327,1277],"class_list":["post-329304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-college","category-commentary","category-morning-splash","category-usa","tag-abrahm-devine","tag-chase-kalisz","tag-curtis-ogren","tag-journalist-david-rieder","tag-max-williamson","tag-pac-12-swimming","tag-pan-pacs","tag-scott-armstrong","tag-stanford","tag-ted-knapp"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nAbrahm DeVine Stepping Out as Elite IMer and Gay Swimmer<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sunday Q&A: Stanford senior Abrahm DeVine explained how he dealt with his own fears about coming out as he became one of the country's top IMers.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/abrahm-devine-stepping-out-as-elite-imer-and-gay-swimmer\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abrahm DeVine Stepping Out as Elite IMer and Gay Swimmer\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sunday Q&A: Stanford senior Abrahm DeVine explained how he dealt with his own fears about coming out as he became one of the country's top IMers.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/abrahm-devine-stepping-out-as-elite-imer-and-gay-swimmer\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-16T14:00:05+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-19T16:41:30+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/abrahm-devine-stanford-2018-mncaa-edited-1.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rieder - 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