April 12, 2025 • 14 mins
Two-time national champion and USA Olympic Swimmer David Johnston joined The Craig Way Show with Cameron Parker to discuss Texas winning their 16th National Championship and his experience at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
A very special guest. He is a two time national champion.
He is a US Olympic swimmer, and he's a University
of Texas at Austin athlete. He's David Johnston, one of
my good friends, and we've been talking about doing this
for a while.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
David. So, hey, good to see you and Glad we
can make this work out. How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Yeah, I'm great, good to see you, Cameron, really excited
to speak with you today and Glad we can do.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
It on air.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
So, first off, congratulations on your national championship. Your second
national championship. He won one as a freshman in twenty
twenty one. You went and won in twenty and twenty five,
and going into the defen it felt like it was
a three horse race between Texas, California, and Indiana. I
think a lot of people had California as the favorite
to win, but it was the Longhorns.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
There. There's sixteenth national championship.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
What changed and what sparked you guys to go into
that week and have an incredible week and capture the
national championship?
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I mean, I think when you win a championship, it
starts at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Just building that culture.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
We had a team of new guys and when the
year first started, we had a lot of talent, but
we didn't have the cohesion we had at the end
of the year. And you think swimming is like an
individual sport, but we had to really bond as a
team to be able to push each other every day
in practice to be able to get to that point. So,
you know, it started with the belief that we could
win and we had the talent, but we were able
to build that culture over time, and I think just
(01:20):
you know, what helped us win wasn't talking about winning
the championship. It was getting out there on those you know,
Tuesday mornings when nobody was watching and we were pushing
each other.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
So, you know, it was awesome to be able to win.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
You know, four years ago as a freshman winning a
championship and then winning four years later as a senior
is just a dream come true. You know, I really
wanted to win another championship and just really happy that
things turned out that way.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
And you know, I would say what made the.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Difference was just everybody pushing each other in practice and
having that great team culture that Bob Bowman was able
to establish and we were able to work together to
get there.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So Texas obviously wins the championship. Ye have floridaan for
Tennessee in fifth, Georgia seven, so forour se team in
the top ten obviously the inaugural season for Texas in
the SEC. Did you feel a difference in events competing
in the SEC versus the Big twelve and do you
think that played a factor and you guys winning the
championship at all?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I think so, you know, I think the SEC meet
was really elade. We never experienced anything like that coming
from the Big twelve, and I think it really tuned
us up to be able to swim at NCAA's because
the SECS was so fast this year. I mean, I
don't know the exact numbers into statistics on it. You
said four of the top ten teams are from the SEC,
but probably fifty percent of the best swimmers in the
(02:32):
NC DOUBLEA we're in the SEC. So that meet was
very fast. It took really quick times to make it
back and that prepared everyone to swim at n C
Double as. I think you know, at SECS we had
a couple of guys that would make it into a
be heat and then swam faster times at night.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
But at ncuable as you.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Can't do that because to win the NCAA Swimming Championship,
you got it so well in the morning to seed
the guys into the finals and be in the A
and B finals. So I think we learned from that experience.
We were really sharp for them want to get NC
double a's, and you know we're really sharp at night too.
You know, I think Bob prepared everyone on the team
to swim well in finals and to swim well in
multiple sessions this year because of just the amount of
(03:11):
like you know, lactate practices we did where we worked
on getting our lactate up and then trying to maintain
that keeps swione fast. So just those really tough practices
fueled us to be able to swim multiple sessions because
the n c DOUAA Swimming Championship is a seventh session meet,
so you know, you can't should be good for one session,
you got to be good for all of them.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
So and that's what we did.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
First year with Bob Bowman as a new head coach.
I'd just say, you're you're kind of spelled, Davey. You
go from Eddie Reese, the most legendary swimming coach definitely,
and Longhorn lower you go from him to Bob Bowman,
he's probably one of the best swimming coaches on the
planet currently. What's the difference in their coaching styles? Obviously
it both works. Considering you won a national championship with
Eddie and you won and one with Bob.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, I figured you would ask this, and what I
would say is, you know, you can't places Eddie Reese.
I love him, and he's one of the most successful
coaches in US history. But Bob is also in his
own right, So I would say, you know, the biggest
differences both the practices are really hard, there's no doubt
about that. But I would say Bob tends to be
(04:13):
more organized, and that doesn't mean that Eddie's not a
good coach. But Eddie would kind of come in and
watch practice and see how people look and build this
practice from there. But Bob kind of has this master
plan at the beginning of the week, and they both
work really well. I think Eddie was really really good
at communicating with people and knowing how to deal with
the alumni and you know, the parents and Bob's also
good with that, but it's just kind of impossible to
(04:35):
replace the person that Eddie is and that's what makes
him so great. But Bob and his own right is
also tremendous, and I'm just really glad that we got
him to be the head coach because we needed a
big marquee coach to be to be with this program.
And we've won fifteen national championships and this was number sixteen,
So you know, Eddie's legacy of having fifteen national championships
is super tough to replace. But we have the best
(04:57):
coach in the world in Bob Bowman here and it's
been awesome and to see him go to work and
the guys really buy into his system, and I would
say everybody on the team really believed in Bob's coaching
and everyone believed we could go fast because they trusted
Bob's coaching plans. So you know, it was tremendous to
be coached by him this year. And yeah, you're right,
I'm totally spoiled to have both of those coaches.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And it's an honor.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Not many athletes can say they've won two national championships
with two different coaches. How how different was the one
you wanted twenty twenty one as a freshman compared to
the one you just won twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Obviously, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
I mean, I think coming in my freshman year in
twenty twenty, it was it was a different year with
the COVID right, and it felt like the whole year
was leading up to this kind of Texas and Cal
duel that we've seen since probably twenty eleven, it's been
Texas and Cal at the top, and you know maybe
in Arizona State or Michigan mix mixed in there when
they won a championship.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
But it was pretty much the whole year getting ready
to race Cal.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
But this year it was a three team race and
getting ready to race Indiana. And I think this year
each team picked up new people at a midseason and
that's what made it interesting, was it was I mean,
it's not free agency, but just with nil that my
freshman year was the last year where we didn't have
in IL and having nil in this year's and c
double A has really affected things. I Mean, we went
(06:16):
from finishing seventh last year to winning the title this year.
I mean that's super rare in swimming, I mean, in
other sports you see more turnover, but swimming tends to
be more consistent. But I think what made this year
swimming in Cuba team rates really fun to watch was
that there were three teams with a very legitimate chance
to win, and it was very close. But in previous
years you don't really see that it's just one team
(06:36):
that you probably know is going to win, or it
could be a Texas Cal rivalry, but this year it
was a lot of teams mixed in there. And as
far as just the feeling between the first and the
second one, you know, the first one was a ton
of fun winning. I mean, but I did it with
a completely new group of guys. I mean, Kobe Crows
and I were the only ones to be a part
of both teams. So this is a new time in
(06:57):
Texas swimming. We have a lot of really good younger
swimmer on the team, and my freshman year I was
swinging with a completely different group of older sores. And
so my freshman year I was the real young guy
and this year I was kind of the veteran, so
I was able to experience two different teams. And I mean,
I would say this year is probably sweeter because I
had to wait four more years to get back there
and after everything that our team went through.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
But both were special on their own right.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
But yeah, this year felt different because it was different
guys and it was a big journey to get to
this point. I mean we finished second in twenty twenty two,
third and twenty twenty three and seventh.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And twenty twenty four, so you know, we were slipping down.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
In the rankings, and then after we got Bob and
we're able to find people in the portal, we were
able to win again. And I think it's not only
is this a testament to what Bob has done after
he's got here, but also the work that Eddie had
on a lot of the guys on our team that
were sophomores that he developed last year, because those guys
were really key to helping us win and Eddie.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Was able to develop those guys.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
So it was even though this year was big, it
was years of years and years of work to be
able to get back to this point. And you know,
I dreamed of days like this the last four years
and we couldn't win and we finally got there, So
it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
How do you think twenty twenty five was shape up
protect us because you still have another year left, right.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
I do, Yeah, you mean the twenty twenty next season
six yeas, Yeah, I mean right now, I would say
we definitely have the best chance of winning because we're
returning the most points. And I'm super excited for that too,
because we've got a whole new group of swimmers coming in.
We just got two Aggies that are transferring into Texas
that committed a couple of days ago, and they're super
elite swimmers and so we're excited.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
To have them.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
And we also have some really good high school two
American high school swimmers coming in, and we have three European,
really good European.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Swimmers coming in, So I'm excited to train with them.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
And I mean, I think next year we have a
very good chance to win, and it would be awesome
to go back to back and kind of, you know,
rekindle a Texas dynasty.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So I'm really really looking forward to next year.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
And I know, just with me personally, I didn't sw
I'm bad at the NC douaa's but didn't have the
individual meat that I hope for. And I figured out
what I personally did wrong, completely separate from the team success,
and I spent the last two weeks already working on that,
already getting back to things, and I'm hoping to make
Worlds this summer and then just swim a lot better
next year and you know, score even more points for
(09:12):
the team. So even though we won last year, you know,
I took the team's success super happy about that, but
then came back more motivated about myself and working on
a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Already that I'm going to be better at next year.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Well, individually, you've had a lot of success as well.
You were twenty twenty four Olympian in the Paris Olympics,
And first off, what was that experience like for yourself
being able to not only qualify for the Olympics but
be able to compete You're in Paris, but also I
know you and a lot of other athletes also were
dealing with a lot of sickness going around. What was
your experience overall like in the Summer Olympics last year.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, I mean, despite having COVID, it was an awesome experience.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
I mean, I think my favorite part was.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Just being on the on the boat ride with at
the opening ceremony and getting to meet so many of
the NBA players that I grew up watching, and just
other athletes there and being able to respect that.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
I mean, you know, swimming in the Olympics.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Having COVID, I didn't do great personally, but I was
super happy to be there and race. I got to
watch a lot of cool swimming, especially once I got
over my illness. And I mean being at training camp
was a lot of fun because we went to Croatia
before we went to Paris for a couple of weeks.
And being in Croatia, you know, out by the water
and Rieka and doing stuff out there and hanging with
the team was a lot of fun. And you know,
(10:25):
making the team itself at trials was awesome because I
barely made the team on the last day, so I
was the very last person to make it, and that
was super exciting because it was up in.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
The air whether I was going to make it or not.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
And you know, qualifying on that night and getting out
of the pool, being able to sign all those autographs
and take a lot of photos and being lifted up
from under the pool to celebrate making the team was awesome.
That's things I dreamed of as a kid. So I'm
just really happy that I don't have to wait three
more years to be an Olympian. So, you know, it
was an awesome experience and it's given me a lot
(10:57):
of learning experience and motivation to try to come back
in LA and win the gold. But I mean, ultimately,
it was awesome being there. And yeah, I mean it
would be awesome to have the Olympics in LA and
I think just having that in home soil, we can
bring so many people out there to support me and all.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
The other athletes. So I just got to do my
work and make it.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
I think you sent me a video or a photo
from when you're on You're on the boat in France.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
What was that river? What's the river called that they had?
Like completely clean?
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, I can't remember, but I think you sent me
my song and you next to Lebron James. I mean,
you know there's NBA athletes that we all have watched,
but then there's Lebron James in a different, different tier.
I mean that must have been kind of like what
am I doing here type moment?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was the Sin River then, Yeah,
it was super cool.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
I I got to talk to Steph Curry and Kevin
Durant and kind of show them what it was like
when I was at their games trying to get their
autograph like six years ago.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
And I talked to.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Kevin Durant about like what it was like to be
at Texas and next to him on the boat for
a bit, and then got to meet a lot of
other cool athletes, like I met Noah Lyles, and like
Tyres Halbert and Anthony Edwards, and I met like a
lot of really cool volleyball players and rowers and divers
and just those people were super nice. And yeah, I
mean tremendous experience. And you know, just being being up
(12:18):
there with them was definitely an experience to take in
because it's not every day you get to be in
the same you know, vicinity as Lebron James are.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
So one of that magnitude. So yeah, it was awesome.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
And yeah, it was called the Sin River, and I
was actually supposed I didn't do the ten kilometer race.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
I was supposed to do a ten kilometer race in
the Sin.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Which probably wouldn't have been a good idea anyway because
it was so infested with viruses. But I mean, I
couldn't swim for two hours, like I'd never even done
it tim k before, but they told me I could
do it because I qualified in the longest race in the.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Pool and we only had one guy that.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Like actually made the ten kilometer race and so he
actually did it. But you know, I could have done it,
which would have been a fun experience, but I mean,
with with where my health was at that point, I
probably could have come down with worse and maybe it's
for the better.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I didn't do it. I'll try to do it in La.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Did those who compete in the cent River did they
come back sick at all?
Speaker 4 (13:08):
I think a few people did.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
I don't know if anyone officially got any crazy virus,
but I know there were a lot of people that
were hospitalized after.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
So it was just an awful situation.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
And it just thinks that the politics from France got
into that. You know, that's not what the Olympics should be.
So you know, I'm sure it'll be better in LA
and everything.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I know you were sick a lot during the Olympics,
and I know you watched some other swimming meets, but
any other sports, any events that you attended while you
were in Paris. That stood out to you to catch
any ping pong, any any basketball.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Well, yeah, you mentioned ping pong.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
You know, I didn't get to attend any live events,
which is what I want to do more of in
LA because I had to leave after my race was over,
which was the last day of the swimming meet, which
kind of stinkd But you know, I got to meet
the only table tennis player.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
From the US. I met him in the in the
Team USA.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Quarters because we were we're taking eyes bath, and so
I got to talk to him a lot about his
journey in table tennis. He's actually played for a couple
of different countries and so I actually have been keeping
up with him and watching.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
He's still training hard and making progress, and.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
So yeah, it's funny you mentioned that I actually got
to meet some of them. And you know, I didn't
get to go to any live, live events that I
really wanted to. I really wanted to go to that
final basketball game, but I had had to leave. But
in LA I'll definitely make sure to do that.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
No doubt.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Hey David Johnson, thanks so much for stopping by him, man,
and looking forward to seeing what you do at the
Summer Worlds. This year and of course next season maybe
when you're third street or when your third national championship.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Now we'll go for it. Thanks a lot for having me,
Cameron and hook him.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
That's David Johnson, two time national champion swimmer at the
University of Texas and US Olympian or the come here
on The Craigway Show, including thoughts from Texas running back
Trey Weiser.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
As The Creigway Show continues on the free iHeartRadio app
A very special guest. He is a two time national champion.
He is a US Olympic swimmer, and he's a University
of Texas at Austin athlete. He's David Johnston, one of
my good friends, and we've been talking about doing this
for a while.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
David. So, hey, good to see you and Glad we
can make this work out. How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Yeah, I'm great, good to see you, Cameron, really excited
to speak with you today and Glad we can do.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
It on air.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
So, first off, congratulations on your national championship. Your second
national championship. He won one as a freshman in twenty
twenty one. You went and won in twenty and twenty five,
and going into the defen it felt like it was
a three horse race between Texas, California, and Indiana. I
think a lot of people had California as the favorite
to win, but it was the Longhorns.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
There. There's sixteenth national championship.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
What changed and what sparked you guys to go into
that week and have an incredible week and capture the
national championship?
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I mean, I think when you win a championship, it
starts at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Just building that culture.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
We had a team of new guys and when the
year first started, we had a lot of talent, but
we didn't have the cohesion we had at the end
of the year. And you think swimming is like an
individual sport, but we had to really bond as a
team to be able to push each other every day
in practice to be able to get to that point. So,
you know, it started with the belief that we could
win and we had the talent, but we were able
to build that culture over time, and I think just
(01:20):
you know, what helped us win wasn't talking about winning
the championship. It was getting out there on those you know,
Tuesday mornings when nobody was watching and we were pushing
each other.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
So, you know, it was awesome to be able to win.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
You know, four years ago as a freshman winning a
championship and then winning four years later as a senior
is just a dream come true. You know, I really
wanted to win another championship and just really happy that
things turned out that way.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
And you know, I would say what made the.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Difference was just everybody pushing each other in practice and
having that great team culture that Bob Bowman was able
to establish and we were able to work together to
get there.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So Texas obviously wins the championship. Ye have floridaan for
Tennessee in fifth, Georgia seven, so forour se team in
the top ten obviously the inaugural season for Texas in
the SEC. Did you feel a difference in events competing
in the SEC versus the Big twelve and do you
think that played a factor and you guys winning the
championship at all?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I think so, you know, I think the SEC meet
was really elade. We never experienced anything like that coming
from the Big twelve, and I think it really tuned
us up to be able to swim at NCAA's because
the SECS was so fast this year. I mean, I
don't know the exact numbers into statistics on it. You
said four of the top ten teams are from the SEC,
but probably fifty percent of the best swimmers in the
(02:32):
NC DOUBLEA we're in the SEC. So that meet was
very fast. It took really quick times to make it
back and that prepared everyone to swim at n C
Double as. I think you know, at SECS we had
a couple of guys that would make it into a
be heat and then swam faster times at night.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
But at ncuable as you.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Can't do that because to win the NCAA Swimming Championship,
you got it so well in the morning to seed
the guys into the finals and be in the A
and B finals. So I think we learned from that experience.
We were really sharp for them want to get NC
double a's, and you know we're really sharp at night too.
You know, I think Bob prepared everyone on the team
to swim well in finals and to swim well in
multiple sessions this year because of just the amount of
(03:11):
like you know, lactate practices we did where we worked
on getting our lactate up and then trying to maintain
that keeps swione fast. So just those really tough practices
fueled us to be able to swim multiple sessions because
the n c DOUAA Swimming Championship is a seventh session meet,
so you know, you can't should be good for one session,
you got to be good for all of them.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
So and that's what we did.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
First year with Bob Bowman as a new head coach.
I'd just say, you're you're kind of spelled, Davey. You
go from Eddie Reese, the most legendary swimming coach definitely,
and Longhorn lower you go from him to Bob Bowman,
he's probably one of the best swimming coaches on the
planet currently. What's the difference in their coaching styles? Obviously
it both works. Considering you won a national championship with
Eddie and you won and one with Bob.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, I figured you would ask this, and what I
would say is, you know, you can't places Eddie Reese.
I love him, and he's one of the most successful
coaches in US history. But Bob is also in his
own right, So I would say, you know, the biggest
differences both the practices are really hard, there's no doubt
about that. But I would say Bob tends to be
(04:13):
more organized, and that doesn't mean that Eddie's not a
good coach. But Eddie would kind of come in and
watch practice and see how people look and build this
practice from there. But Bob kind of has this master
plan at the beginning of the week, and they both
work really well. I think Eddie was really really good
at communicating with people and knowing how to deal with
the alumni and you know, the parents and Bob's also
good with that, but it's just kind of impossible to
(04:35):
replace the person that Eddie is and that's what makes
him so great. But Bob and his own right is
also tremendous, and I'm just really glad that we got
him to be the head coach because we needed a
big marquee coach to be to be with this program.
And we've won fifteen national championships and this was number sixteen,
So you know, Eddie's legacy of having fifteen national championships
is super tough to replace. But we have the best
(04:57):
coach in the world in Bob Bowman here and it's
been awesome and to see him go to work and
the guys really buy into his system, and I would
say everybody on the team really believed in Bob's coaching
and everyone believed we could go fast because they trusted
Bob's coaching plans. So you know, it was tremendous to
be coached by him this year. And yeah, you're right,
I'm totally spoiled to have both of those coaches.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And it's an honor.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Not many athletes can say they've won two national championships
with two different coaches. How how different was the one
you wanted twenty twenty one as a freshman compared to
the one you just won twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Obviously, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
I mean, I think coming in my freshman year in
twenty twenty, it was it was a different year with
the COVID right, and it felt like the whole year
was leading up to this kind of Texas and Cal
duel that we've seen since probably twenty eleven, it's been
Texas and Cal at the top, and you know maybe
in Arizona State or Michigan mix mixed in there when
they won a championship.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
But it was pretty much the whole year getting ready
to race Cal.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
But this year it was a three team race and
getting ready to race Indiana. And I think this year
each team picked up new people at a midseason and
that's what made it interesting, was it was I mean,
it's not free agency, but just with nil that my
freshman year was the last year where we didn't have
in IL and having nil in this year's and c
double A has really affected things. I Mean, we went
(06:16):
from finishing seventh last year to winning the title this year.
I mean that's super rare in swimming, I mean, in
other sports you see more turnover, but swimming tends to
be more consistent. But I think what made this year
swimming in Cuba team rates really fun to watch was
that there were three teams with a very legitimate chance
to win, and it was very close. But in previous
years you don't really see that it's just one team
(06:36):
that you probably know is going to win, or it
could be a Texas Cal rivalry, but this year it
was a lot of teams mixed in there. And as
far as just the feeling between the first and the
second one, you know, the first one was a ton
of fun winning. I mean, but I did it with
a completely new group of guys. I mean, Kobe Crows
and I were the only ones to be a part
of both teams. So this is a new time in
(06:57):
Texas swimming. We have a lot of really good younger
swimmer on the team, and my freshman year I was
swinging with a completely different group of older sores. And
so my freshman year I was the real young guy
and this year I was kind of the veteran, so
I was able to experience two different teams. And I mean,
I would say this year is probably sweeter because I
had to wait four more years to get back there
and after everything that our team went through.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
But both were special on their own right.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
But yeah, this year felt different because it was different
guys and it was a big journey to get to
this point. I mean we finished second in twenty twenty two,
third and twenty twenty three and seventh.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And twenty twenty four, so you know, we were slipping down.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
In the rankings, and then after we got Bob and
we're able to find people in the portal, we were
able to win again. And I think it's not only
is this a testament to what Bob has done after
he's got here, but also the work that Eddie had
on a lot of the guys on our team that
were sophomores that he developed last year, because those guys
were really key to helping us win and Eddie.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Was able to develop those guys.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
So it was even though this year was big, it
was years of years and years of work to be
able to get back to this point. And you know,
I dreamed of days like this the last four years
and we couldn't win and we finally got there, So
it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
How do you think twenty twenty five was shape up
protect us because you still have another year left, right.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
I do, Yeah, you mean the twenty twenty next season
six yeas, Yeah, I mean right now, I would say
we definitely have the best chance of winning because we're
returning the most points. And I'm super excited for that too,
because we've got a whole new group of swimmers coming in.
We just got two Aggies that are transferring into Texas
that committed a couple of days ago, and they're super
elite swimmers and so we're excited.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
To have them.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
And we also have some really good high school two
American high school swimmers coming in, and we have three European,
really good European.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Swimmers coming in, So I'm excited to train with them.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
And I mean, I think next year we have a
very good chance to win, and it would be awesome
to go back to back and kind of, you know,
rekindle a Texas dynasty.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So I'm really really looking forward to next year.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
And I know, just with me personally, I didn't sw
I'm bad at the NC douaa's but didn't have the
individual meat that I hope for. And I figured out
what I personally did wrong, completely separate from the team success,
and I spent the last two weeks already working on that,
already getting back to things, and I'm hoping to make
Worlds this summer and then just swim a lot better
next year and you know, score even more points for
(09:12):
the team. So even though we won last year, you know,
I took the team's success super happy about that, but
then came back more motivated about myself and working on
a lot of things.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
Already that I'm going to be better at next year.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Well, individually, you've had a lot of success as well.
You were twenty twenty four Olympian in the Paris Olympics,
And first off, what was that experience like for yourself
being able to not only qualify for the Olympics but
be able to compete You're in Paris, but also I
know you and a lot of other athletes also were
dealing with a lot of sickness going around. What was
your experience overall like in the Summer Olympics last year.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, I mean, despite having COVID, it was an awesome experience.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
I mean, I think my favorite part was.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Just being on the on the boat ride with at
the opening ceremony and getting to meet so many of
the NBA players that I grew up watching, and just
other athletes there and being able to respect that.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
I mean, you know, swimming in the Olympics.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Having COVID, I didn't do great personally, but I was
super happy to be there and race. I got to
watch a lot of cool swimming, especially once I got
over my illness. And I mean being at training camp
was a lot of fun because we went to Croatia
before we went to Paris for a couple of weeks.
And being in Croatia, you know, out by the water
and Rieka and doing stuff out there and hanging with
the team was a lot of fun. And you know,
(10:25):
making the team itself at trials was awesome because I
barely made the team on the last day, so I
was the very last person to make it, and that
was super exciting because it was up in.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
The air whether I was going to make it or not.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
And you know, qualifying on that night and getting out
of the pool, being able to sign all those autographs
and take a lot of photos and being lifted up
from under the pool to celebrate making the team was awesome.
That's things I dreamed of as a kid. So I'm
just really happy that I don't have to wait three
more years to be an Olympian. So, you know, it
was an awesome experience and it's given me a lot
(10:57):
of learning experience and motivation to try to come back
in LA and win the gold. But I mean, ultimately,
it was awesome being there. And yeah, I mean it
would be awesome to have the Olympics in LA and
I think just having that in home soil, we can
bring so many people out there to support me and all.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
The other athletes. So I just got to do my
work and make it.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
I think you sent me a video or a photo
from when you're on You're on the boat in France.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
What was that river? What's the river called that they had?
Like completely clean?
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, I can't remember, but I think you sent me
my song and you next to Lebron James. I mean,
you know there's NBA athletes that we all have watched,
but then there's Lebron James in a different, different tier.
I mean that must have been kind of like what
am I doing here type moment?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was the Sin River then, Yeah,
it was super cool.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
I I got to talk to Steph Curry and Kevin
Durant and kind of show them what it was like
when I was at their games trying to get their
autograph like six years ago.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
And I talked to.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Kevin Durant about like what it was like to be
at Texas and next to him on the boat for
a bit, and then got to meet a lot of
other cool athletes, like I met Noah Lyles, and like
Tyres Halbert and Anthony Edwards, and I met like a
lot of really cool volleyball players and rowers and divers
and just those people were super nice. And yeah, I
mean tremendous experience. And you know, just being being up
(12:18):
there with them was definitely an experience to take in
because it's not every day you get to be in
the same you know, vicinity as Lebron James are.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
So one of that magnitude. So yeah, it was awesome.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
And yeah, it was called the Sin River, and I
was actually supposed I didn't do the ten kilometer race.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
I was supposed to do a ten kilometer race in
the Sin.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Which probably wouldn't have been a good idea anyway because
it was so infested with viruses. But I mean, I
couldn't swim for two hours, like I'd never even done
it tim k before, but they told me I could
do it because I qualified in the longest race in the.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Pool and we only had one guy that.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Like actually made the ten kilometer race and so he
actually did it. But you know, I could have done it,
which would have been a fun experience, but I mean,
with with where my health was at that point, I
probably could have come down with worse and maybe it's
for the better.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I didn't do it. I'll try to do it in La.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Did those who compete in the cent River did they
come back sick at all?
Speaker 4 (13:08):
I think a few people did.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
I don't know if anyone officially got any crazy virus,
but I know there were a lot of people that
were hospitalized after.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
So it was just an awful situation.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
And it just thinks that the politics from France got
into that. You know, that's not what the Olympics should be.
So you know, I'm sure it'll be better in LA
and everything.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I know you were sick a lot during the Olympics,
and I know you watched some other swimming meets, but
any other sports, any events that you attended while you
were in Paris. That stood out to you to catch
any ping pong, any any basketball.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Well, yeah, you mentioned ping pong.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
You know, I didn't get to attend any live events,
which is what I want to do more of in
LA because I had to leave after my race was over,
which was the last day of the swimming meet, which
kind of stinkd But you know, I got to meet
the only table tennis player.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
From the US. I met him in the in the
Team USA.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Quarters because we were we're taking eyes bath, and so
I got to talk to him a lot about his
journey in table tennis. He's actually played for a couple
of different countries and so I actually have been keeping
up with him and watching.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
He's still training hard and making progress, and.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
So yeah, it's funny you mentioned that I actually got
to meet some of them. And you know, I didn't
get to go to any live, live events that I
really wanted to. I really wanted to go to that
final basketball game, but I had had to leave. But
in LA I'll definitely make sure to do that.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
No doubt.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Hey David Johnson, thanks so much for stopping by him, man,
and looking forward to seeing what you do at the
Summer Worlds. This year and of course next season maybe
when you're third street or when your third national championship.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Now we'll go for it. Thanks a lot for having me,
Cameron and hook him.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
That's David Johnson, two time national champion swimmer at the
University of Texas and US Olympian or the come here
on The Craigway Show, including thoughts from Texas running back
Trey Weiser.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
As The Creigway Show continues on the free iHeartRadio app
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