{"id":387057,"date":"2019-08-02T21:28:57","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T04:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=387057"},"modified":"2019-08-02T21:56:02","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T04:56:02","slug":"serene-maxime-relaxed-rooney-claims-first-national-title-in-4-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/serene-maxime-relaxed-rooney-claims-first-national-title-in-4-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Serene Maxime: Relaxed Rooney Claims First National Title in 4 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

While most athletes use fast-paced, loud music to get pumped up for an event, Maxime Rooney<\/strong> is different.<\/p>\n

Rooney performs at his best when he is relaxed and serene.<\/p>\n

He must have been really relaxed on Friday because he swam two of the best races of his career on the same day, claiming his first national championship in four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last couple months have all been about my mental game. At this level, everyone does the work in the pool. It is really about getting myself mentally prepared to perform at the right time,\u201d Maxime Rooney said. \u201cI have been listening to a lot of music behind the blocks to calm my nerves and keep the stress low. I try not to listen to too much up-beat stuff. I listen to things that keep me at peace and don\u2019t raise my heart rate because I want to be as relaxed as I can. When I am behind the blocks, mentally, it is go time. It is time to execute.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rooney won the 100 butterfly<\/a> at the 2019 Phillips 66 US National Championships at Stanford. Having the meet near home helped his relaxation, too, since so much of his family was able to watch his stellar performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia is my home. The first two days, my middle brother came, then my other brother came to day. My mom, my dad, my grandma, my cousins and some of my best childhood friends came. It is really cool when I walk out and I see them, it is like a home vibe and I know that is when I am most relaxed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n