A Note on Prelims

Happy Tuesday Swimmers,

Can’t say I’ve necessarily enjoyed the trial and error it took to gather evidence for this episode — from faltering in finals after a lights-out prelim swim, or letting the pressure overwhelm me when it mattered most.

But these experiences taught me what actually works, and I’m excited to pass on the tools I learned, to you.

As swimmers, we live in an outcome focused reality: getting your summer juniors cut, making the NSCA team, securing your spot on varsity. We get caught up in the bigger picture, forgetting that the magic happens one. step. at. a. time.

In this episode, I share a story from 2021 Olympic Trials where I was looking to make the team in the 100 free.

Bob Bowman guided me to focus on just one thing after my semifinal swim. My turn. “Make your turn as perfect as you can. That’s it. That’s all I want you to focus on.”

At the time I didn’t realize it, but Bob was centering me in the present moment, giving me the chance to control what I could control, rather than what I couldn’t.

He didn’t pump me up telling me to go for it and really attack the whole swim because then I’d have a better chance at making the Olympic Team.

No.

Just my turn.

One round at a time.

One kick at a time.

One stroke at a time.

Spoiler alert: I made the Olympic Team that year :)

Take a dive into our next episode — Prelims vs Finals: The Psychology of Performance Under Pressure for more. Among many things, it answers the question: “What’s the deal with me adding time in finals after having a lights out prelim swim?”

With love,

Olivia

MANTRA FOR THE WEEK:

“I trust myself.”