As a member of the swimming world myself, the summer Olympics has always held a special part of my heart. The adrenaline of the Olympic Trials and the thrill of watching the best of the best compete is always something I look forward to. This year, many reoccurring namesakes walked onto the pool deck in Omaha, Nebraska to re-claim their Olympic title. However, there was an overwhelming amount of first time Olympic Trial swimmers who came to fight. Every swimmer has the same goal, to place first or second. First or second out of hundreds. First or second gives you the honor to travel to Rio and call yourself an Olympian. Unfortunately though, not everyone ends up in first or second.
Day in and day out, these athletes invest their entire lives into this sport. They invest all of their time for those couple minutes of glory. And it is so so worth it. The hours of training in and out of the pool, the early mornings, the days spent entirely at the swimming pool, the traveling, it is all part of the equation to get them to the top. Since I was a little girl, I have been following a few of the biggest swimming namesakes like Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Nathan Adrian, Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin, Matt Grevers, Ricky Berens and most recently Katie Ledecky. These all-star athletes present themselves as such role models to all, but especially to the swimming world. Yet, even though they are some of the top swimming namesakes, they are fighting just as hard for that first or second place spot.
These 2016 Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska exemplified some of the most competition for the athletes yet, and as saddening as it is, some were not able to re-claim their spot on the Olympic Team for this summer's Olympics in Rio.
Six-time Olympic medalist, Matt Grevers is one of the biggest shocks that hit the swimming world this year following the 2016 Olympic Trials. His signature event, the 100m backstroke, in which he finished first in the 2012 London Olympics, he placed third in by only a half of a second. Understandably, this came as a shock and as a heartbreak to him and all of his family and fans.
In an interview with NBC Sports, Matt Grevers states that "There’s always that battle: When do you step away? On top? Where would I feel satisfied? I feel very satisfied. I didn’t bomb or anything. I got third. It’s a tough sport. But it’s not a bad spot to maybe separate a little bit.". Swimming is a time-consuming, mentally straining, and stressful sport. It consumes these athlete's lives. Matt Grevers takes the mere loss like a true champion. He admits that it hurts and that he is stunned, but he always positively expresses that this may be his time to step away from the sport for a little and just enjoy what life has to offer for him and his family.
Grevers does not plan on retiring as stated with NBC Sports, “I’ll probably keep swimming, but I’m not going to put everything into swimming, like I have forever.”. This has shown to all aspiring athletes in the swimming world that it does not come easy, and sometimes you fail, but that it is not the end of the world, and you can't let it knock you down.
Matt Grevers is continuing to serve as an incredible role model to the younger swimming generations even out the pool. Now that, that is acting as a true champion.
