IU Swimming & Diving Media Day - Swimmers Selected Questions Transcript
7/11/2016 4:38:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
IU Swimming & Diving Olympian Media Day
Swimmers Selected Questions - Transcript
Lilly King (Team USA)
So there is a lot of mental preparation involved as well?
"Yeah, since before trials I have been thinking about that race at the 100 for four years. I was definitely, extremely prepared and just ready to go. I knew physically I could do it but, mentally it's a different game in trials."
How much has is taken you to build toward this? And how do you block out going to the Olympics while training?
"Well, he (coach) blocks out Olympics but, I sure don't. I do agree that we have to keep everything calm and at a nice perspective but that is still on my mind. That's not something you just can stop thinking about."
Did you find swimming or did swimming find you?
"I would say a little bit of both. My mom swam in college, so that is kind of how I started and I kind of wanted to do what she did. But, that's really the reason I started was because my mom swam."
How old were you when you started swimming?
"I was seven."
Kennedy Goss (Team Canada)
What was it like having your dad win a medal in the Olympics?
"I kind of just got used to it. Not all dads are Olympic medalist (laughing)."
Did you put a lot of pressure on yourself growing up due to the fact that your dad was an Olympic medalist?
"I don't think that it's always in the back of my mind. I mean he is a really calm, laid back kind of person so he would never put that pressure on me. I didn't really realize it until I got started really thinking competitive swimming, how good my dad was until college coaches came up to me saying 'You're Sandy Goss' daughter' and I am like, 'Yeah, I am.' But I never really realized it, but he was the one who put any pressure on me compared to everyone else. And also, having my mother as a sport psychologist really helped with all that stuff as well"
Do you always run into people that recognize you bring up your dad?
"Yeah, for sure. I kind of just got used to it. It is more around the swim pool when people notice who he is, but now that I am getting more recognized it is kind of like we are a pair."
Ali Khalafalla (Team Egypt)
What are you trying to get out of going to Rio?
"My goal is to semi-final at this point. I think I am in a good position to do that. I also want to get my personal best time. That's the first step, beating your personal best time to get to the semi-final. I am very optimistic about it. I have been training very hard. I think I can be one of the fastest guys but, I am mostly focused on getting to semi-finals and the 50s is not easy at all, it is one of the hardest events."
Cody Miller (Team USA)
As good as you are, you are a little bit shorter. How do you race with knowing that?
"Yeah, I do race with kind of a chip on my shoulder because I definitely feel for a long time I've kind of had to prove myself because for the NCAA's more often or not I was the smallest guy being under 6-feet tall. And also having the diminished lung capacity and the dent in my chest and what not. A big part of that was overcoming my physical appearance and stop being self-conscious about the way I look for a long time, I looked kind of funny.
"People see me in a suit and it is like they have never seen a chest before. It looks weird. I think kind of in a way it helped me. I knew I had to do all the little things right and I kind of pride myself on doing all the little things. Like doing all the little things that people don't necessarily do. Like I don't miss workouts, I eat really, really, healthy. I am pretty religious about being in bed, like I make sure I get 8-10 hours of sleep, even on weekends. I mean Ali will tell you, we go to bed at 9:30pm on Saturday nights, which makes me sound like an old man but it paid off."
When you get to Rio, what is kind of the key to staying focused?
"The biggest thing is going to be the timing of the races because the prelims doesn't start till the middle of the day and the finals is pretty much at midnight. So, it is going to be adapting to the time change and getting yourself ready to perform at midnight essentially. So adapting to that sleep schedule, you know, the body is smart. It picks up on what time of day it is, so if you're trying to go to sleep in the middle of the day the body knows. So I think that is the biggest obstacle we have to conquer and I am pretty good at doing little things and adapting, so that's the kind of thing that I am starting to prepare for mentally"
Blake
Why did you decide to go to IU?
"I don't really have one solid reason on why I came here. After my trip, I just had no time to think. I just knew, I didn't need to think about it. It was just so clear to me that I could really see myself here at this school and see myself develop and I didn't really see that at the other schools I visited. The coaches and the team were also big reasons on choosing this school."
Why did you start swimming in the first place?
"My dad swam in college at Purdue and he got me into swim lessons when I was about seven and I started doing pretty well and stayed with it.
Swimmers Selected Questions - Transcript
Lilly King (Team USA)
So there is a lot of mental preparation involved as well?
"Yeah, since before trials I have been thinking about that race at the 100 for four years. I was definitely, extremely prepared and just ready to go. I knew physically I could do it but, mentally it's a different game in trials."
How much has is taken you to build toward this? And how do you block out going to the Olympics while training?
"Well, he (coach) blocks out Olympics but, I sure don't. I do agree that we have to keep everything calm and at a nice perspective but that is still on my mind. That's not something you just can stop thinking about."
Did you find swimming or did swimming find you?
"I would say a little bit of both. My mom swam in college, so that is kind of how I started and I kind of wanted to do what she did. But, that's really the reason I started was because my mom swam."
How old were you when you started swimming?
"I was seven."
Kennedy Goss (Team Canada)
What was it like having your dad win a medal in the Olympics?
"I kind of just got used to it. Not all dads are Olympic medalist (laughing)."
Did you put a lot of pressure on yourself growing up due to the fact that your dad was an Olympic medalist?
"I don't think that it's always in the back of my mind. I mean he is a really calm, laid back kind of person so he would never put that pressure on me. I didn't really realize it until I got started really thinking competitive swimming, how good my dad was until college coaches came up to me saying 'You're Sandy Goss' daughter' and I am like, 'Yeah, I am.' But I never really realized it, but he was the one who put any pressure on me compared to everyone else. And also, having my mother as a sport psychologist really helped with all that stuff as well"
Do you always run into people that recognize you bring up your dad?
"Yeah, for sure. I kind of just got used to it. It is more around the swim pool when people notice who he is, but now that I am getting more recognized it is kind of like we are a pair."
Ali Khalafalla (Team Egypt)
What are you trying to get out of going to Rio?
"My goal is to semi-final at this point. I think I am in a good position to do that. I also want to get my personal best time. That's the first step, beating your personal best time to get to the semi-final. I am very optimistic about it. I have been training very hard. I think I can be one of the fastest guys but, I am mostly focused on getting to semi-finals and the 50s is not easy at all, it is one of the hardest events."
Cody Miller (Team USA)
As good as you are, you are a little bit shorter. How do you race with knowing that?
"Yeah, I do race with kind of a chip on my shoulder because I definitely feel for a long time I've kind of had to prove myself because for the NCAA's more often or not I was the smallest guy being under 6-feet tall. And also having the diminished lung capacity and the dent in my chest and what not. A big part of that was overcoming my physical appearance and stop being self-conscious about the way I look for a long time, I looked kind of funny.
"People see me in a suit and it is like they have never seen a chest before. It looks weird. I think kind of in a way it helped me. I knew I had to do all the little things right and I kind of pride myself on doing all the little things. Like doing all the little things that people don't necessarily do. Like I don't miss workouts, I eat really, really, healthy. I am pretty religious about being in bed, like I make sure I get 8-10 hours of sleep, even on weekends. I mean Ali will tell you, we go to bed at 9:30pm on Saturday nights, which makes me sound like an old man but it paid off."
When you get to Rio, what is kind of the key to staying focused?
"The biggest thing is going to be the timing of the races because the prelims doesn't start till the middle of the day and the finals is pretty much at midnight. So, it is going to be adapting to the time change and getting yourself ready to perform at midnight essentially. So adapting to that sleep schedule, you know, the body is smart. It picks up on what time of day it is, so if you're trying to go to sleep in the middle of the day the body knows. So I think that is the biggest obstacle we have to conquer and I am pretty good at doing little things and adapting, so that's the kind of thing that I am starting to prepare for mentally"
Blake
Why did you decide to go to IU?
"I don't really have one solid reason on why I came here. After my trip, I just had no time to think. I just knew, I didn't need to think about it. It was just so clear to me that I could really see myself here at this school and see myself develop and I didn't really see that at the other schools I visited. The coaches and the team were also big reasons on choosing this school."
Why did you start swimming in the first place?
"My dad swam in college at Purdue and he got me into swim lessons when I was about seven and I started doing pretty well and stayed with it.
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