Erin Gemmell (left) with her father and coach, Bruce — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

Sure, the other six finalists from April\u2019s Trials were missing from the 200 free, but the margin between Ledecky and Gemmell was much smaller than the margin between Gemmell and the third-place swimmer, Claire<\/strong> Tuggle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt surprised me a little bit,\u201d Gemmell said of her huge drop. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to go 1:56 for a while. I had some good training in between International Team Trials and now. Of course, it was a little bit surprising, but it wasn\u2019t like, \u2018Oh, I wonder where that came from.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As Ledecky was interviewed by NBC Sports after the race, Gemmell heard herself referred to as \u201cyour friend Erin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Whoa,\u201d Gemmell said. \u201cI guess, but it\u2019s just so weird to me to be so close to someone who\u2019s that fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

About a month after her disappointing results at Trials, Gemmell traveled to Europe to compete on the Mare Nostrum series, and she thinks that competing in a lower-stakes international meet provided good mental preparation for the kind of pressurized situations that she will surely see in the future, such as qualification meets. And Gemmell will have one more international opportunity this year as she will be one of the headliners at this week’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Honolulu.<\/p>\n

Gemmell is already committed to swim at the University of Texas beginning in the fall of 2023, and up until that point, the goals for her swimming career are pretty simple: keep working hard and keep improving, try to lower her best times and refine her turns through months of short course racing. The big target meet will come in late June, when USA Swimming selects its team for the next FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously next year, the goal is to make Worlds. It was the goal this year, so hopefully I do better,\u201d Gemmell said.<\/p>\n

But if there was anything to prove to herself or anyone else, Gemmell accomplished that with her performance in Wednesday\u2019s final. Years after admiring one of the world\u2019s best swimmers and honoring her with a homemade Halloween costume, Gemmell is on the verge of reaching that level herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird to think about,\u201d Gemmell said of being the 10th-fastest swimmer in the world in her best event. \u201cIt\u2019s weird to conceptualize that to me. I\u2019ve never had a NAG record or anything like that. To be among all those super-fast people, it\u2019s just weird.\u201d<\/p>\n