May 2, 2025 • 36 mins
A disqualification that turns into one of swimming's most viral moments. A champion brought to his knees in tears as officials strip away his victory. And a redemption exactly one year later that proves sometimes, the universe does give second chances.
NC State NCAA All-American and ACC Champion in the mile (1650), Owen Lloyd's journey from heartbreak to triumph embodies everything we love about sports comebacks. After winning the mile at the ACC Championships during his senior year, Owen experienced the crushing disappointment of being disqualified for inadvertently falling into a competitor's lane during celebration. The moment – captured on camera just as he was about to be interviewed as champion – amassed over a million views online and sparked outrage throughout the swimming community.
Rather than let this devastating moment define him, Owen returned for a fifth year with renewed determination. He meticulously developed mental techniques to maintain focus during his grueling event, including playing specific songs in his head throughout different phases of the race. His disciplined approach to training included benchmark test sets that built unshakable confidence, even when facing Olympic-level competition.
The story reaches its perfect conclusion when Owen returns to ACCs one year later, executing a flawless strategic race to reclaim his rightful title with the best time of his career. As he touched the wall in victory, the basketball phrase "ball don't lie" said everything that needed saying. His improvement from a 15:24 freshman to a 14:29 fifth-year stands as testament to what's possible when defeat becomes fuel rather than a final chapter.
Whether you're a swimmer or simply someone who appreciates inspiring comebacks against the odds, Owen's story reminds us that our greatest setbacks often precede our greatest triumphs. Listen now and discover how the discipline of distance swimming creates not just champions in the pool, but individuals equipped to overcome life's most challenging moments.
• NC State All-American and ACC Champion in the mile (1650)
• Improved from 15:24 as a freshman to 14:29 in his fifth year
• Masters Student focusing on coaching, leadership and psychology
• Recently retired from competitive swimming at 2023 NCAAs
• Uses carefully selected music in his head to maintain focus during races
• Created a strict 3-hour pre-race routine for the mile
• Endured a heartbreaking disqualification after winning ACCs
• Returned one year later to win the event legitimately against stronger competition
• Planning to pursue coaching at the collegiate level
• Values "pressure is a privilege" as his guiding philosophy
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello friends, I'm Kelly Pallas.
Welcome to the Champions Mojopodcast and today, if you are
looking for a feel good comebackstory, you are in the right
place.
This is really one of myfavorite comeback stories.
It happens in the swimmingcommunity and it is phenomenal.
The actual video that caughtthe start of this comeback story
(00:25):
has had over a million views onYouTube and we are going to
talk with the man who made thisgreat comeback today, and that
is Owen Lloyd.
He is an NC State, ncaaAll-American ACC champion in the
1650.
Owen has a big resume.
(00:46):
He's now graduated and isretired from swimming, but he's
with us today and we are soexcited.
Owen Lloyd, welcome toChampions Mojo.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah, so tell us just real quick where you are in
your schooling and your trainingand kind of where what is.
What is Owen up to right now?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, so I just completed my fifth year of
eligibility at NC State.
I'm currently in a master'sprogram.
It's two years, master's ofarts, liberal studies.
So I kind of get to choose whatmy focus is, and right now
that's coaching, leadership andpsychology.
I actually just retired atNCAAs in March, so been enjoying
(01:36):
not waking up as early, goingto practice that kind of stuff,
but kind of already getting intomore things.
I actually went on a run today.
Did not feel great at all, butthat's how it goes and that
learning curve.
But yeah, just finished up myswimming career.
I had a really good post-season.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
How far did you run?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
today I just did two miles, two and a half miles.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, just so.
Probably would have been easieron you if you'd swum that right
100%.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, I always my right 100%.
My Achilles and shins were not.
We're not having it after allthe basketball and stuff I did
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So as a master swimming podcast and more for
adults.
I always try to encourage theyounger swimmers that are on the
show and we've had a lot ofOlympians, a lot of people in
your age group, to just say,yeah, you're going to retire
from that high level of swimming, but would you ever consider
continuing your swimming throughmasters, maybe later?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh yeah, 100%.
I think I just wanted to breakmentally from, obviously, that
high level competitive aspect ofcollege swimming.
But I'm extremely open to doingtriathlons in the future and
potentially massive swimming,and as I want to be a coach,
I'll be around the pool.
It's a wonderful form ofexercise.
I know that so, and I I'm sureI'll get the the yearn for the
(02:49):
water back, but as of now, it'snot hitting me three or four
weeks out.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Right, right.
I always wish that people wouldsay they're taking a pause
versus retiring, but I get it.
I totally get that that highlevel, especially being a
distance swimmer.
So one of the things that Iknow we would love to hear from
you and I say we because we havea lot of people listening what,
what is that hardest part ofgrinding through distance for
(03:18):
you, like, like all the trainingor the pain, or what, what is
it that kind of makes that beinga distance swimmer?
What does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
That's a loaded question.
I think the biggest thing isjust almost the, the grind, as
you call it.
Not necessarily monotony,because there are ways to make
it interesting and that'ssomething that I really leaned
into the last two years, butjust the, the constant, constant
yardage, the early morningsdoing more than everyone else
(03:51):
around you.
Obviously, like every distanceswimmer is envious of the people
who are able to sprint, butthose are not the gifts that I
was given and, yeah, I mean, asI've gotten older like obviously
almost two decades in the sportyou're, you're gonna have stuff
with your shoulders and havingto rehab that and just
constantly thinking about waysto mitigate that stress, recover
(04:12):
correctly.
It's just a lot that goes intoit and I'm someone who, if I'm
committing to something like I,want to be all in on it.
So that disciplinary aspect ofnot cutting corners in practice
also has, or did this yearespecially, kind of bleed over
into the rest of my life.
So, yeah, I think biggest thingabout being a distance swimmer
(04:33):
is the discipline to staymotivated, locked in, not just
in practice but just out of itas well, and it'll, it'll
translate to success that waybut just out of it as well and
it'll, it'll translate tosuccess that way.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, almost a little bit more more likely, like it's
.
It's?
You kind of know if you've held15, 100s on a minute and you
held your pace for the mile, youkind of know that's coming
versus somebody who's got todrop a second, a hundred to to
final or something.
So so owen you your trajectoryof your swimming.
You, you came in as a freshman.
(05:12):
You, if I'm recalling fromreviewing your, your history
there, you you kind of had thisbuild into your senior year
where I think your freshman yearyou didn't make NCAAs, and then
you get a little bit better,and then you final, and then you
win ACC's and then you your topfive at NCAAs.
(05:32):
What, what do you think wasyour?
What do you think made thatpossible?
Cause a lot of people go theopposite way.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, there's a lot of factors that went into it,
for sure.
And, like you said, I was like15, 24 or something coming into
college.
I just got a spot on the team,no scholarship money and I was
surrounded by a really goodgroup, obviously led by Mark
Bertavino, but I was one of, ifnot the slowest guys in that
group freshman year.
So it was kind of if not theslowest guys in that group
freshman year.
So it was kind of justsurviving that year.
(06:07):
But after making wave onetrials that was good I made it
back to wave two.
That kind of gave me a lot ofconfidence.
And then at the start of mysophomore year I was like, okay,
I need to like make thesechanges because my freshman year
didn't go as well and therewere challenges with COVID.
But my sophomore year I reallycommitted to kind of locking in
(06:27):
and I knew that if I wanted toeven just have lanes at dual
meets I would have to reallyprove it in practice and race
all of those guys who werefaster than me, like Ross and
Eric Knowles, and I kind of justbuilt on that mindset as I got
older and obviously theygraduated so I had to be that
person that the team could relyon be the next man up and we had
people like Will Gallant stillthere and he was amazing, and
(06:51):
then the younger guys like Lancealways pushing me.
So I attribute a lot of mycontinued success to my
environment of teammates thatwere around me and a coach that
was able to push me a lot and Ikind of just built off that
momentum.
My junior year or my sophomoreyear I qualified for NC's but I
(07:12):
wasn't able to go because of theroster limits so we had a diver
qualify and he went instead ofme but I got to go to the meet,
experience the pressure, whichis an awesome experience.
And junior year I got mono andbut I bounced back from that and
that gave me a lot ofconfidence going into that
summer where I qualified for aninternational team.
So that was really cool and Ihad I just had a ton of
confidence going into my seniorseason.
And then obviously the DQ atACC is kind of gave me that last
(07:35):
little bit of fuel for the fire.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah, let's talk about that First.
I want to just say for ourlisteners cause we do have a lot
of triathletes, yes, we do havea lot of triathletes.
Yes, friends, we are talkingabout a 1524 minute.
Mile was 1650, which is prettymuch a 1500, a little bit
different, but about the sametime, so that I think you're
(07:57):
probably the fastest miler we'veever had on the show, but it's
a 1524 mile.
So you come in as a freshmanwith a 1524 mile and then your
fifth year, you just went 1439.
Is that right?
1429.
1429.
Wow, sorry.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Almost a minute I can see.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah, almost a minute , that's just a huge drop.
And then you're talking aboutRoss Dant, which you said Ross,
but not Ross Dant's last name,and we're going to get into Ross
here a little bit.
When we talk about this, thathappened to you.
So the, the idea of a comebackis so.
It's so inspiring, it's soenticing and it's one of the
(08:37):
things that we talk about a loton the show, because it's just
when you can listen to a podcastand you hear about a comeback
from anybody.
I just interviewed a reallygreat actually she's.
She's a miler too, she's donethe, she's the fastest woman
ever to do the English channeland she's swam a really fast
mile.
And she just told the comebackstory of her having pneumonia,
just thinking she's going to the, the ER doc, the doc in the box
(09:01):
to get a thing of medicine, andshe ends up in the hospital
having lung surgery, and so shecame back from that and set a
world record of master's worldrecord.
But it's just you, just we lovethe comeback story.
So your comeback story is in.
It may be so personalized to meI'm probably going to cry here,
(09:23):
owen, because the emotion thatyou, you showed in this.
So here's.
I'm going to just give you mylike 30 second summary of what I
saw.
And then, of course, we want tohear everything that happened
to you.
So I am watching the ACCchampionships.
This is the your senior year.
(09:45):
You have never won an ACCchampionship title.
You win the 1650, which is justgut-wrenching grueling.
Anybody who knows that it's,it's just so painful.
You win your senior year.
This is a big, big deal and,like so many people, you get on
(10:07):
the lane rope to celebrate yourwin.
You guys are at Greensborothat's kind of the home pool and
the crowd the kind of hometowncrowds going nuts.
You sit on the lane rope, likemany people In fact.
I'm going to just throw this inhere Did you notice that Justin
Yep celebrated his NCAA 200breaststroke victory, got on the
lane rope and fell into hiscompetitor's lane?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
All right.
Yes, I actually laughed withsome of my friends when that
happened but the race was overso he was fine.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Yeah, he was fine.
But so you celebrate.
You fall into your competitor'slane.
Who's done so?
Everyone in the pool hascompleted the race, except one
of the end lanes.
I don't know which lane it was,but the lane that you actually
fell into was Ross Ross Stant,your fellow teammate, who
finished second.
And so you your senior year.
You're great, we're all goingcrazy.
(10:57):
I'm watching this at home on TVand I'm very good friends with
Mark Bernardino and an NC Statedistance all American alum, just
like you, and I am just one,two and I'm celebrating.
And they always interview thewinner of those races.
And so you go over to beinterviewed by the on-camera
person.
And not only does this happento you just as a experience that
(11:24):
you lived with, but it happenedin front of the world and it
was a viral moment where, atthat moment, when the microphone
and the camera is on you, aboutto be interviewed as the new
ACC champion, they announcedthat you are disqualified for
leaving your lane during therace.
And the reason it was duringthe race is because somebody was
(11:45):
swimming in the end lane, andthat only happens to the
distance people, becauseeverybody else is done Like we
said, yep, when the NCAAs.
He fell into it and to anotherlane and that race was done.
So you have a very emotionalmoment, kind of a fall to your
knees crying moment, which istotally understandable.
And I just wonder if you knowhow many other of us like me.
(12:09):
I'm in my living room and Ifall to my knees crying.
It's this moment that the world, you shared this moment with
the world, and I just feel likethe vulnerability, the power of
that moment, the potentiallyunfairness of it all, but rules
(12:31):
are rules.
So that's the perspective of anobserver.
And then, of course, rosshandled it in the most
sportsmanlike way, saying youwon fair and square.
I mean, it's not like you gotany advantage.
He's deeming you the advantage.
He's he's deeming you thechampion, he gives you his award
, he's like the ultimateteammate.
(12:52):
And kudos to Ross.
Yeah, I love the guy.
And so, from your perspectiveand I know you've gone through
this a lot of times, but to comeback, and then we will follow
up that you actually, one yearlater to the day, came back and
won the ACC's when you reallywere not predicted to, and there
was somebody in there that hadswum faster than you that year
(13:15):
and it's a fifth year and didthis crush your spirit and could
you do it again, and thepressure of it.
And then there's kind ofanother fall to the knees moment
of everybody in there watchingyou win it again a year later
and just being incredibly joyful.
It's just it for me again, apersonal connection to NC State
and that event and you and Mark.
(13:37):
It was just to me one of thegreatest comeback stories in
sports and it's kind of likethat to the world.
But I'm going to stop talkingnow.
That was way more than 30seconds, I'm sorry, and it's
kind of like that to the world,but I'm going to stop talking
now.
That was way more than 30seconds, I'm sorry, but it's,
it's just.
It was quite a powerful thingthat you did, owen, and quite an
amazing thing that you did, andI first just want to say
(13:59):
congratulations.
What an inspiration.
You touched my heart, my soulof this and I know there's
thousands, if not tens ofthousands, of other people.
So, from your perspective, tellus about this experience.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah.
So I'll kind of walk youthrough just both this year last
year's ACC as well as this year.
I mean that race me and Rosshad been talking about it the
whole meet.
I'd been having a good meet.
So I was like, okay man, likeokay man, I think, like I think
it's gonna be me and you like wegot this.
And he had been there beforehe'd been an ACC champion his
sophomore junior year in themile or the 500 and it was a
(14:35):
really really good race.
I swam it really well.
I dropped like three or fourseconds from a mid-season time,
which is also really good then,and that would have been my
second ever college win, that2024 ACC championship.
And yeah, I think it was aculmination.
Like the reason I showed so muchemotion was because I cared so
much and I'd put so much into it.
(14:57):
When I talked about like mydiscipline, obviously I
translated that for almost twoand a half years, maybe more,
just into everything that I didin my life.
So that was like three years ofjust hard work kind of built up
and I mean everyone, everyonesaw it.
I I cared a lot about that race, I cared a lot about that
(15:17):
finish and I didn't know this atthe time, but the rule is
actually discretionary, so theofficial had the option to to
not call it, but decided thatthey did not like what I was
doing.
That was a big reason of theuproar, at least within the
swimming community, and thenobviously it got millions of
views on youtube this one videoand I I don't even know how many
(15:40):
elsewhere.
So, yeah, that was, that washard and it gave me a ton of
nerves for 2024 NCAAs where Igot fifth with 1439.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
But I think those nerves really helped me the next
year, so could you talk aboutthe disqualification and the
reality that your name wasn'tgoing to be on the board as an
ACC champion, kind of theaftermath.
What was the darkest point ofthat disqualification for you
and what was your mindset aroundthat when it came, or did it
ever come?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah, probably two or so weeks after ACC is when we
kind of got back into reallyhard training for NCAAs.
Obviously, I'd seen all thestuff online and there were just
a lot of thoughts going on inmy head.
I was obviously really upset,even just at myself too, because
I was just finding anything toblame.
Obviously I shouldn't have been.
(16:33):
What I did made sense, but yeah, there was definitely.
It made me nervous.
I wouldn't.
I wouldn't say I was depressed.
Obviously, I had a lot of goodpeople around me and there was
just more anger, I think, andsadness in that moment.
But I kind of had to push thoseaway and and really focus on
what was going on, because Iwanted to be there for my team
(16:55):
and in CAAs I want to be able toperform Me and Dino butted
heads a little bit that week.
I remember we had a pretty badargument at practice where he
was trying to motivate me,brought it up and I was like I
can't deal with that right now.
So there was that.
So that was a little bit ofthat anger.
But yeah, I think thatin-between period between those
two meets was just superstressful and I mean that
(17:18):
definitely helped me goingforward, being able to get past
that and still put up a decenttime.
But in c's, yeah, I would sayright after, during that hard
training, because when youdouble taper, I mean you're, you
get right back to it, you'redoing some of the hardest sets.
We did something like six, fivehundreds, like on 530, like go
(17:41):
sub 440, sub 4435, sub 430,twice.
So that that was the one whereI came to a head with Dino and
we argued a little bit.
So I just remember thatpractice pretty vividly actually
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Yeah, so then your fifth year.
Had you always planned to takethe fifth year, or did the
disqualification play into that?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
No, even from after, like my sophomore year, braden
had talked to me about it justbecause he I think he could see
that I was someone who was goingto keep improving and with with
trials being that summer, itmade perfect sense to stay in it
, so that was always the plan.
I'm so happy that I was able toget that opportunity.
Obviously, a lot of bad thingscame out of COVID, but that was
(18:26):
one of the good things in mylife that I was able to get from
that.
So yeah, I knew that obviously Ifocused on trials after NCAAs
but I stayed in shape throughoutthe summer.
I didn't have the greatest meetlong course.
We went to Colorado Springs inMay, did a ton of long course
freestyle training, whichactually kind of messed up my
shoulder a little bit, so I hadto deal with that too, going
(18:49):
into short course season in ourtraining room a lot.
But yeah, the fifth year was sogood to have that and I think
that really gave me a lot ofmotivation for the harder
practices and the harder partsin the fall where we're doing a
lot of rocktober training, as tocall it.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
So you get the DQ, you go to NCAAs, you have a
great mile, your best time up tothat point.
Then you have the summer trialsand you go back to training in
the fall, prior to going andresurrecting this loss and
winning the ACC's again in notnearly as likely a scenario, or
(19:26):
nearly as friendly a scenario,with a lot more pressure.
Did it start out from the verybeginning of the year?
I'm going to win ACC's or wasit just kind of in the
background?
Yeah, no pressure.
How is the plan for the yeargoing into that?
Speaker 2 (19:41):
yeah, I didn't want to like.
I didn't want it to likedominate my headspace.
I think I've learned a lotabout mental clarity and just
having a good mindset going intothings.
I would use it for motivation alot in certain practices where
I didn't feel good.
I was like come on, like yougot to give yourself the best
chance you can.
And we actually had DavidBethlehem, the Hungarian guy,
(20:01):
who was there and I was likethis guy is my competition,
because at that point the Caldistance freestyler hadn't come
because he was a January guy butunfortunately David had to go
back to Hungary.
Problems with the federation, Iwon't get into all that.
But now then after that I waslike, okay, it's like it's me
and Lance, maybe some otherpeople, but like I know that
I've done the work.
(20:22):
So I, I just I kept building.
My biggest thing throughout thehard training parts of the year
is kind of getting these testsets that really really give me
that confidence that I know thatduring a race I'm going to be
able to be able to hold on sothat I can go out fast enough,
because that's something I'vehad to like kind of focus on in
college.
Obviously, as a club swimmer Iwas pretty done with my
(20:45):
strategies where I would kind offinish the last 50 and be three
or two or three seconds fasterand I'm like, okay, I knew I had
more and yeah, I had.
I had really good dual meetswims.
I posted the best time 847 inthe thousand in Georgia, and
then me and Lance went reallyfast in mid-season.
And then obviously the LucasHenvo, the Belgium Olympian, was
(21:07):
added to Cal's roster kind ofsurprisingly in January and then
he posted a 14.29.
And like I know that I've donework to go that time, but
obviously you never know likehow you're going to feel at a
race, how you're going to feelduring it, obviously still
dealing with my shoulder stuff,like I don't know how it's going
to impact me.
So yeah, there, I don't think Isaid like I have to win,
(21:32):
because I knew that would havedone too much to my mind.
I was like I'm okay with what'sgoing to happen, but I never
counted myself out.
And do you want me to go intolike just the pre-race strategy
and like, yeah, what was goingon?
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, yeah and I would love for you to address a
couple of things while you'retalking about, like that mental
clarity you talked about, sojust maybe, what that means to
you.
Like, like also, what are youthinking when you're in that
grueling pain in the middle ofthe race, like you hit the hit
45 on the the counter and you'relike, oh no, I've got another
500.
How am I feeling?
(22:07):
And then also talk about someof the test set, or a test set
that might have gotten you readyfor that, and then, just then,
leading up to it, I'd love toknow and what and what you felt
when you hit the wall and sawyeah.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
So two of the test sets that we've done the last
three years the first one isduring Christmas training.
It's eight, 800 short courseyards on eight minutes were
suited.
My goal was to be around seven,30 on all of them or descend to
kind of.
So I started out 740, kind ofdescended down each one.
I actually finished with a 718,which was really really good
(22:44):
for me.
So that was one of the onesthat gave me confidence.
And then Dino loves a set wherewe do 33, one fifties on, like
one, 45 suited as well.
One aerobic, one white, one goand I held 116 low to 115 high
and then finished with a 114.
(23:04):
Oh, also short course.
And yeah, those, those two werereally really good confidence
boosters because they werebetter than I had ever been and
yeah.
So, mental clarity this issomething that I've worked on,
or worked on a while back withsports psych.
I did a few meetings with themjust to kind of get negative
thoughts out of my head, and Ido this during practice as well
as during meets, where I playmusic in my head, almost like
(23:28):
kind of singing to myself, butnot really.
It's always songs that I knowand it helps if I have music in
practice.
But for me specifically, I havethree songs in the mile where
I'll play them in my head andobviously I still think some,
but it kind of keeps me in myrhythm, keeps me in my zone.
And that last one is one that Iknow will kind of like I don't
(23:49):
know like trigger my body tomake me give it all I have Like
sometimes when I'm justlistening to it in the car I'll
get goosebumps because I've liketrained my mind that way.
So I play those.
Before the races I listened tosome other music to hype me up.
I have a pretty very, verystrict three hours routine in
the mile because I always haveso much time.
So I'll warm up about 2000yards and then 50 minutes before
(24:14):
my race I'll I'll take somecaffeine, put my suit on, do a
500 or so suited with some pace,and then I get warm and I
listen to my music to get kindof in that racing zone.
But I get into the zonethroughout the day because I'm
usually racing in the afternoon.
So that that zone really hasbeen something that I've kind of
(24:39):
cultivated and worked on overthe last four years.
Yeah, and then during the race Imean I knew that I had to stick
with Envo and I was right nextto him, which is great.
I got a little bit of a draft.
He's a big guy and that wasnice.
Open water swimmers will knowhow much a draft can can help
you and I did some of that inclubs.
So I've obviously been someonewho's always thinking about it
during a race if it's apossibility.
(25:03):
And, yeah, I kind of made mymove pretty early.
So many people talked to me andthey were like I thought you
were going to die and I I pulledahead quite a bit.
Actually, I think I made mymove around like the 650.
And then when I see 47 on thecounter, that's when I kind of
just give it everything I havefor the rest, like almost a
sprint.
Obviously, in a distance race,a sprint is different than like
others, cause your body is justdying and focusing on turns.
(25:26):
But I always told myself likeduring that race, cause the guy
who actually got second wassomeone else, not the cow guy,
it was a Stanford guy and he hewas.
He was negative splitting.
But I was like don't, don'tever like get comfortable here.
Like you got to keep pushing.
You got to keep pushing, whichhelped me win the race by almost
five seconds and post a reallyreally good best time 14, 31 and
(25:48):
yeah, I mean it.
It didn't even feel real when Itouched and I finished.
Obviously I I had that thatline ball don't lie kind of kind
of loaded up in my mind.
I was like, oh, this, thiswould be cool.
But yeah, it was just likeoverwhelming, like joy,
obviously, a huge feeling ofvictory, and I was very, very, I
(26:08):
had a lot of gratitude.
I texted a lot of people Thankyou who are obviously like
reaching out and sayingcongratulations, like it.
Just it just kind of likeflowed out of me.
It was great.
My, a lot of my family wasthere, aside from my little
brother who's in college rightnow so he couldn't come, but he
was able to make it 10 C's,which was really, really special
and yeah, it was just so much.
The two biggest emotions weredefinitely joy and then
(26:30):
victorious kind of.
It was really awesome, like Iwas talking with my friends just
like a week after and I waslike this is like the kind of
happiness that like lasts such along time, like it's, it's like
true happiness because it comesfrom that work that you put in,
and again that overcomingdefeat there.
(26:50):
So it made all that sacrifice,all that discipline, all the
pain from the year before allworth it for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yeah, this is the kind of accomplishment that you
can look back on your entirelife and I mean, this is the
beauty of swimming you getsomething like this out and
there are smaller comebacks thatwe all have.
Yours has just been so publicand so watched and you know that
you can look back and say, well, I did that then.
(27:21):
And then you can do it in yourthirties and your forties and
your fifties, and we all needcomebacks all the time.
It doesn't even have to be inswimming, it can be whatever
your work or your health orsomething.
But so, oh, and I have to askif you're, if you're, writing
the wrong.
I was really hoping you wouldget on the lane rope and throw
(27:44):
your arms in the air aftereverybody finished the heat.
At least, did you?
Did anybody other than me askyou to do that, or did?
Did you think about it?
Speaker 2 (27:56):
I, I 100 thought about it.
I actually did a little pumpfake of the celebration, but I I
didn't want to, I didn't wantto risk anything, even if they
were all done.
The same official who dq'd mewas there, so I was not trying
to mess around with that.
Obviously there were a lot ofjokes with that.
I, I had a good celebration.
I'm someone who likes tocelebrate.
Obviously there were a lot ofjokes with that.
I had a good celebration.
I'm someone who likes tocelebrate.
Obviously I have a lot ofemotion tied to my swims and it
(28:19):
is something that I like to doto like kind of get the team
fired up, especially at biggermeets.
But yeah, I thought about it.
The guy next to me was like yo,you're going to get in lane,
right.
I was like, no, but I knewbetter than to do that.
No, I let my actions speak forthemselves.
And then I had a little bit ofsaying like ball don't lie,
(28:39):
obviously.
And I talked about-.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Explain that for me, ball don't lie.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Yeah.
So it's kind of something thatcomes from basketball where,
like, if a call is bad, like youshoot for it to like say like,
oh, this call was right.
Rashid Wallace is the personwho, at least Google, has shown
up there.
Yeah, a lot of basketball, itcomes from basketball and it's
something that now my friendshave been saying a lot of ever
(29:05):
since.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah, that makes total sense.
So are your songs, your threesongs that you sing during the
mild top secret, or can youshare those?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
The first one is no Church in the Wild, which is
Jay-Z and Kanye, and then thesecond one is a song called On
and On.
It's kind of like an EDM song.
And then the last one is theShow Goes On by Lupe Fiasco and
it's kind of like the beat kindof matters.
So that's why I like that firstone, because it's like a slow,
steady.
(29:34):
And then the second one buildsjust like I like to build, and
the last one, it just alwaysgets me fired up.
I've liked it ever since, likemiddle school, so it's kind of
been my, my go-to pump up songand it, it, it's applicable.
That last one I, I, I felt likeit.
The lyrics are.
The lyrics are good too andthey get me going.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, I think more distance swimmers sing or listen
to songs in their head thanthan we think.
So I like to hear that, becausedefinitely a lot of people that
I've talked to and I, I did thesame thing.
So now you are, you've retired,you're, you're out of it,
you've had this the best seasonever that you've ever had, and
(30:15):
how does it feel kind of a monthout now that?
Speaker 2 (30:19):
you're done.
Yeah, it's definitely exciting.
I still like I think I need tolike journal some about what I
feel.
Obviously, I had so manyemotions at ACC's.
My training after was just sogreat going into NCAA so I knew
that I could be a little bitfaster.
Obviously, that double taper isstill pretty hard and the field
there was insane because I went10 seconds faster than last
(30:41):
year but I got the exact sameplace.
So there was a really tightbattle between like third to
seventh there.
Obviously, zalon and Rex werepulling ahead a little bit more
and they both had phenomenalswims.
So the competitor in me waslike, oh, I could have gotten
third, but like that's not theend of the world.
Obviously, I still broke thatreally big barrier of 14 minutes
(31:01):
and 30 seconds, so that wassomething I was super proud of.
But yeah, I mean I I'mextremely grateful for
everything and everyone that wasable to.
Kind of let me have thatstorybook ending.
I'm super excited to stayaround the sport I want to be.
I want to be a college coachand I'm coaching at a club in
(31:22):
North Carolina while I finishedmy master's degree.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Have you?
Have you thought about writingout the whole incident?
Just putting it down?
Speaker 2 (31:32):
My dad has told me that I should, and I think I
will.
I might wait till school's outto just kind of make it my
summer thing, but or at least doit then.
But yeah, I've been putting itoff a little bit, but I think
that I will, and I've had peoplebe like yo, you should write a
book, like yeah, no, I don'tknow.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Oh, yeah, there's a book in there, really, truly For
sure, you would have to journaland explore those emotions of
what was I feeling?
What was I really feeling?
What was I really thinking?
Who was there for me?
And certainly I would love toread that book.
But I'm a fan girl.
I'm a little bit geeked out onwhat you did.
And do you feel like you've hada little celebrity, a little 15
(32:12):
minutes of fame?
I mean, how has that been?
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Yeah, it was definitely more last year.
I was kind of hoping that, like, the big outlets that picked it
up last year would pick it upthis year.
There's been pockets of peoplesending me YouTube shorts,
instagram reels of some somepeople making stuff about it,
and then, of course, within NCstate it's it's made a lot of
noise.
I've gotten to do someinterviews, which has been
pretty cool.
So, yeah, the, the fame is cool.
Obviously, the the actualfeeling of winning is much, much
(32:42):
better, because I'm provingthat to myself, not to anyone
else.
And, yeah, it was that was theonly like silver lining last
year was like, oh, like, I guesspeople now know my name
somewhat, but now it's like theyknow my name and I backed it up
.
So it was kind of cool to havethat be something that was kind
of like rat rectified comparedto last year.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Yeah, for sure.
So this will certainly lookgreat on your coaching resume
because you can talk to the kids.
Whoever you're coaching youngkids, college kids, masters,
whoever you're coaching is goingto be quite familiar with your
story and you're going to beable to use that, the that
experience, to be a better coach.
What, what type of coaching doyou see yourself doing?
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I've got club, at least for a year.
I'm going to look for collegejobs, but I want to be in.
I want to be in college.
For now, at least, that's thegoal.
I have no idea where.
I have no idea what I mean.
I'm assuming I would probablycoach distance for now, but I'm
really excited to learn moreabout the shorter races.
I'm going to get to work withWolfpack, leden and NC State
(33:48):
this summer and then in thespring as well, in addition to
the club coach job that I haveat Wave.
So I'm excited to learn a lot,because I know that I need to
learn a lot.
So that's my number one goalthe next couple of years.
But, yeah, college.
I mean hope it'd be awesome ifI could make it to be a head
coach.
That would be a dream come true.
So that's the end goal for sure.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
And you've certainly had some incredible experience
there watching Braden Hollowayfor five years and an Olympic
coach and Mark Bernardino forswimming with him.
So I think you've got a greatresume All right.
Oh, and is there anything thatI have not asked you, that you
think that our listeners mightwant to know or that you want to
share?
Speaker 2 (34:32):
I guess I'll share some quotes that I really like.
The first one is pressure is aprivilege, so that's one that I
always tell myself.
I think it was Billie Jean Kingsaid that, and it kind of
reminds me that where you're ina position to feel that pressure
, it is a blessing that you havesomething that you care about,
(34:53):
that you have something whereyou have to perform, or you have
people that are that you love,that are supporting you and
counting on you like a team.
So that's something that always, that always gets me through
really, really hard stuff.
Yeah, I'll just, I'll justleave it with that that pressure
is a privilege and that'sthat's a good thing to remember
when you're, when you're facingthose nerves I love that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
All right, are you ready to do some sprinter round
questions?
What is your favorite sandwich?
Speaker 2 (35:25):
oh, I'm a big fan of like the like chicken, avocado,
bacon kind of paninis.
What do you own that you shouldthrow out?
Extra gadgets that I'veacquired, or maybe give away,
not throw out, but I've I've toomuch stuff from just certain
random meat gifts or birthdaypresents or christmas gifts
(35:48):
what's the scariest animal toyou?
Speaker 1 (36:00):
to you, ooh, maybe like a snake, but I also hate
cockroaches.
Okay, what celebrity would you?
Speaker 2 (36:03):
most like to meet Hmm , I think your girl either
Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.
What is the hardest books about?
Speaker 1 (36:14):
them yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
What is the hardest?
I've read some good books aboutthem.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Yeah, what is the hardest swimming event in the
pool?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Age old question For you.
I don't know Either the 4am orthe mile, I really can't decide.
Just both are very hard toexecute correctly and you feel a
lot of pain.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
One of your favorite movies.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
I'm a big fan of the gladiator interstellar.
Got to see that imx this year.
It's pretty cool.
I love star wars.
I like.
I like both of the doom movies.
Those are also good onesrecently all right, favorite
smell I guess guess just thesmell of good food.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Do you make your bed every morning?
Speaker 2 (36:58):
No, I do not.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Do you prefer a kickboard or no kickboard?
When given the choice,kickboard.
If you had to listen to onesong for the rest of your life,
what would it be?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
I guess I got to go with.
Show Goes On.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Window or aisle.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
Window for sure, I like to be able to sleep, if I
can.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Describe your life in five words Ooh.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Like currently, or just my whole life story.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Whatever you feel like, or just my whole life
story.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Whatever you feel like Laughter, friendship,
family, hard work I don't knowwhat the last one is Fun.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Fun, I like it, okay, what word?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
comes to mind when you dive in the water.
I'd say like disciplinediscipline.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Okay, I like it well, wonderful.
Oh, and thank you so much forspending the time with us.
It was really awesome and we'llbe looking for that book from
you.
I'll let you know yeah, thanksfor being on the show.
Thank you for having me.
Hello friends, I'm Kelly Pallas.
Welcome to the Champions Mojopodcast and today, if you are
looking for a feel good comebackstory, you are in the right
place.
This is really one of myfavorite comeback stories.
It happens in the swimmingcommunity and it is phenomenal.
The actual video that caughtthe start of this comeback story
(00:25):
has had over a million views onYouTube and we are going to
talk with the man who made thisgreat comeback today, and that
is Owen Lloyd.
He is an NC State, ncaaAll-American ACC champion in the
1650.
Owen has a big resume.
(00:46):
He's now graduated and isretired from swimming, but he's
with us today and we are soexcited.
Owen Lloyd, welcome toChampions Mojo.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah, so tell us just real quick where you are in
your schooling and your trainingand kind of where what is.
What is Owen up to right now?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, so I just completed my fifth year of
eligibility at NC State.
I'm currently in a master'sprogram.
It's two years, master's ofarts, liberal studies.
So I kind of get to choose whatmy focus is, and right now
that's coaching, leadership andpsychology.
I actually just retired atNCAAs in March, so been enjoying
(01:36):
not waking up as early, goingto practice that kind of stuff,
but kind of already getting intomore things.
I actually went on a run today.
Did not feel great at all, butthat's how it goes and that
learning curve.
But yeah, just finished up myswimming career.
I had a really good post-season.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
How far did you run?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
today I just did two miles, two and a half miles.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, just so.
Probably would have been easieron you if you'd swum that right
100%.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, I always my right 100%.
My Achilles and shins were not.
We're not having it after allthe basketball and stuff I did
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So as a master swimming podcast and more for
adults.
I always try to encourage theyounger swimmers that are on the
show and we've had a lot ofOlympians, a lot of people in
your age group, to just say,yeah, you're going to retire
from that high level of swimming, but would you ever consider
continuing your swimming throughmasters, maybe later?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh yeah, 100%.
I think I just wanted to breakmentally from, obviously, that
high level competitive aspect ofcollege swimming.
But I'm extremely open to doingtriathlons in the future and
potentially massive swimming,and as I want to be a coach,
I'll be around the pool.
It's a wonderful form ofexercise.
I know that so, and I I'm sureI'll get the the yearn for the
(02:49):
water back, but as of now, it'snot hitting me three or four
weeks out.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Right, right.
I always wish that people wouldsay they're taking a pause
versus retiring, but I get it.
I totally get that that highlevel, especially being a
distance swimmer.
So one of the things that Iknow we would love to hear from
you and I say we because we havea lot of people listening what,
what is that hardest part ofgrinding through distance for
(03:18):
you, like, like all the trainingor the pain, or what, what is
it that kind of makes that beinga distance swimmer?
What does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
That's a loaded question.
I think the biggest thing isjust almost the, the grind, as
you call it.
Not necessarily monotony,because there are ways to make
it interesting and that'ssomething that I really leaned
into the last two years, butjust the, the constant, constant
yardage, the early morningsdoing more than everyone else
(03:51):
around you.
Obviously, like every distanceswimmer is envious of the people
who are able to sprint, butthose are not the gifts that I
was given and, yeah, I mean, asI've gotten older like obviously
almost two decades in the sportyou're, you're gonna have stuff
with your shoulders and havingto rehab that and just
constantly thinking about waysto mitigate that stress, recover
(04:12):
correctly.
It's just a lot that goes intoit and I'm someone who, if I'm
committing to something like I,want to be all in on it.
So that disciplinary aspect ofnot cutting corners in practice
also has, or did this yearespecially, kind of bleed over
into the rest of my life.
So, yeah, I think biggest thingabout being a distance swimmer
(04:33):
is the discipline to staymotivated, locked in, not just
in practice but just out of itas well, and it'll, it'll
translate to success that waybut just out of it as well and
it'll, it'll translate tosuccess that way.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, almost a little bit more more likely, like it's
.
It's?
You kind of know if you've held15, 100s on a minute and you
held your pace for the mile, youkind of know that's coming
versus somebody who's got todrop a second, a hundred to to
final or something.
So so owen you your trajectoryof your swimming.
You, you came in as a freshman.
(05:12):
You, if I'm recalling fromreviewing your, your history
there, you you kind of had thisbuild into your senior year
where I think your freshman yearyou didn't make NCAAs, and then
you get a little bit better,and then you final, and then you
win ACC's and then you your topfive at NCAAs.
(05:32):
What, what do you think wasyour?
What do you think made thatpossible?
Cause a lot of people go theopposite way.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, there's a lot of factors that went into it,
for sure.
And, like you said, I was like15, 24 or something coming into
college.
I just got a spot on the team,no scholarship money and I was
surrounded by a really goodgroup, obviously led by Mark
Bertavino, but I was one of, ifnot the slowest guys in that
group freshman year.
So it was kind of if not theslowest guys in that group
freshman year.
So it was kind of justsurviving that year.
(06:07):
But after making wave onetrials that was good I made it
back to wave two.
That kind of gave me a lot ofconfidence.
And then at the start of mysophomore year I was like, okay,
I need to like make thesechanges because my freshman year
didn't go as well and therewere challenges with COVID.
But my sophomore year I reallycommitted to kind of locking in
(06:27):
and I knew that if I wanted toeven just have lanes at dual
meets I would have to reallyprove it in practice and race
all of those guys who werefaster than me, like Ross and
Eric Knowles, and I kind of justbuilt on that mindset as I got
older and obviously theygraduated so I had to be that
person that the team could relyon be the next man up and we had
people like Will Gallant stillthere and he was amazing, and
(06:51):
then the younger guys like Lancealways pushing me.
So I attribute a lot of mycontinued success to my
environment of teammates thatwere around me and a coach that
was able to push me a lot and Ikind of just built off that
momentum.
My junior year or my sophomoreyear I qualified for NC's but I
(07:12):
wasn't able to go because of theroster limits so we had a diver
qualify and he went instead ofme but I got to go to the meet,
experience the pressure, whichis an awesome experience.
And junior year I got mono andbut I bounced back from that and
that gave me a lot ofconfidence going into that
summer where I qualified for aninternational team.
So that was really cool and Ihad I just had a ton of
confidence going into my seniorseason.
And then obviously the DQ atACC is kind of gave me that last
(07:35):
little bit of fuel for the fire.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah, let's talk about that First.
I want to just say for ourlisteners cause we do have a lot
of triathletes, yes, we do havea lot of triathletes.
Yes, friends, we are talkingabout a 1524 minute.
Mile was 1650, which is prettymuch a 1500, a little bit
different, but about the sametime, so that I think you're
(07:57):
probably the fastest miler we'veever had on the show, but it's
a 1524 mile.
So you come in as a freshmanwith a 1524 mile and then your
fifth year, you just went 1439.
Is that right?
1429.
1429.
Wow, sorry.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Almost a minute I can see.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah, almost a minute , that's just a huge drop.
And then you're talking aboutRoss Dant, which you said Ross,
but not Ross Dant's last name,and we're going to get into Ross
here a little bit.
When we talk about this, thathappened to you.
So the, the idea of a comebackis so.
It's so inspiring, it's soenticing and it's one of the
(08:37):
things that we talk about a loton the show, because it's just
when you can listen to a podcastand you hear about a comeback
from anybody.
I just interviewed a reallygreat actually she's.
She's a miler too, she's donethe, she's the fastest woman
ever to do the English channeland she's swam a really fast
mile.
And she just told the comebackstory of her having pneumonia,
just thinking she's going to the, the ER doc, the doc in the box
(09:01):
to get a thing of medicine, andshe ends up in the hospital
having lung surgery, and so shecame back from that and set a
world record of master's worldrecord.
But it's just you, just we lovethe comeback story.
So your comeback story is in.
It may be so personalized to meI'm probably going to cry here,
(09:23):
owen, because the emotion thatyou, you showed in this.
So here's.
I'm going to just give you mylike 30 second summary of what I
saw.
And then, of course, we want tohear everything that happened
to you.
So I am watching the ACCchampionships.
This is the your senior year.
(09:45):
You have never won an ACCchampionship title.
You win the 1650, which is justgut-wrenching grueling.
Anybody who knows that it's,it's just so painful.
You win your senior year.
This is a big, big deal and,like so many people, you get on
(10:07):
the lane rope to celebrate yourwin.
You guys are at Greensborothat's kind of the home pool and
the crowd the kind of hometowncrowds going nuts.
You sit on the lane rope, likemany people In fact.
I'm going to just throw this inhere Did you notice that Justin
Yep celebrated his NCAA 200breaststroke victory, got on the
lane rope and fell into hiscompetitor's lane?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
All right.
Yes, I actually laughed withsome of my friends when that
happened but the race was overso he was fine.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Yeah, he was fine.
But so you celebrate.
You fall into your competitor'slane.
Who's done so?
Everyone in the pool hascompleted the race, except one
of the end lanes.
I don't know which lane it was,but the lane that you actually
fell into was Ross Ross Stant,your fellow teammate, who
finished second.
And so you your senior year.
You're great, we're all goingcrazy.
(10:57):
I'm watching this at home on TVand I'm very good friends with
Mark Bernardino and an NC Statedistance all American alum, just
like you, and I am just one,two and I'm celebrating.
And they always interview thewinner of those races.
And so you go over to beinterviewed by the on-camera
person.
And not only does this happento you just as a experience that
(11:24):
you lived with, but it happenedin front of the world and it
was a viral moment where, atthat moment, when the microphone
and the camera is on you, aboutto be interviewed as the new
ACC champion, they announcedthat you are disqualified for
leaving your lane during therace.
And the reason it was duringthe race is because somebody was
(11:45):
swimming in the end lane, andthat only happens to the
distance people, becauseeverybody else is done Like we
said, yep, when the NCAAs.
He fell into it and to anotherlane and that race was done.
So you have a very emotionalmoment, kind of a fall to your
knees crying moment, which istotally understandable.
And I just wonder if you knowhow many other of us like me.
(12:09):
I'm in my living room and Ifall to my knees crying.
It's this moment that the world, you shared this moment with
the world, and I just feel likethe vulnerability, the power of
that moment, the potentiallyunfairness of it all, but rules
(12:31):
are rules.
So that's the perspective of anobserver.
And then, of course, rosshandled it in the most
sportsmanlike way, saying youwon fair and square.
I mean, it's not like you gotany advantage.
He's deeming you the advantage.
He's he's deeming you thechampion, he gives you his award
, he's like the ultimateteammate.
(12:52):
And kudos to Ross.
Yeah, I love the guy.
And so, from your perspectiveand I know you've gone through
this a lot of times, but to comeback, and then we will follow
up that you actually, one yearlater to the day, came back and
won the ACC's when you reallywere not predicted to, and there
was somebody in there that hadswum faster than you that year
(13:15):
and it's a fifth year and didthis crush your spirit and could
you do it again, and thepressure of it.
And then there's kind ofanother fall to the knees moment
of everybody in there watchingyou win it again a year later
and just being incredibly joyful.
It's just it for me again, apersonal connection to NC State
and that event and you and Mark.
(13:37):
It was just to me one of thegreatest comeback stories in
sports and it's kind of likethat to the world.
But I'm going to stop talkingnow.
That was way more than 30seconds, I'm sorry, and it's
kind of like that to the world,but I'm going to stop talking
now.
That was way more than 30seconds, I'm sorry, but it's,
it's just.
It was quite a powerful thingthat you did, owen, and quite an
amazing thing that you did, andI first just want to say
(13:59):
congratulations.
What an inspiration.
You touched my heart, my soulof this and I know there's
thousands, if not tens ofthousands, of other people.
So, from your perspective, tellus about this experience.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah.
So I'll kind of walk youthrough just both this year last
year's ACC as well as this year.
I mean that race me and Rosshad been talking about it the
whole meet.
I'd been having a good meet.
So I was like, okay man, likeokay man, I think, like I think
it's gonna be me and you like wegot this.
And he had been there beforehe'd been an ACC champion his
sophomore junior year in themile or the 500 and it was a
(14:35):
really really good race.
I swam it really well.
I dropped like three or fourseconds from a mid-season time,
which is also really good then,and that would have been my
second ever college win, that2024 ACC championship.
And yeah, I think it was aculmination.
Like the reason I showed so muchemotion was because I cared so
much and I'd put so much into it.
(14:57):
When I talked about like mydiscipline, obviously I
translated that for almost twoand a half years, maybe more,
just into everything that I didin my life.
So that was like three years ofjust hard work kind of built up
and I mean everyone, everyonesaw it.
I I cared a lot about that race, I cared a lot about that
(15:17):
finish and I didn't know this atthe time, but the rule is
actually discretionary, so theofficial had the option to to
not call it, but decided thatthey did not like what I was
doing.
That was a big reason of theuproar, at least within the
swimming community, and thenobviously it got millions of
views on youtube this one videoand I I don't even know how many
(15:40):
elsewhere.
So, yeah, that was, that washard and it gave me a ton of
nerves for 2024 NCAAs where Igot fifth with 1439.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
But I think those nerves really helped me the next
year, so could you talk aboutthe disqualification and the
reality that your name wasn'tgoing to be on the board as an
ACC champion, kind of theaftermath.
What was the darkest point ofthat disqualification for you
and what was your mindset aroundthat when it came, or did it
ever come?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah, probably two or so weeks after ACC is when we
kind of got back into reallyhard training for NCAAs.
Obviously, I'd seen all thestuff online and there were just
a lot of thoughts going on inmy head.
I was obviously really upset,even just at myself too, because
I was just finding anything toblame.
Obviously I shouldn't have been.
(16:33):
What I did made sense, but yeah, there was definitely.
It made me nervous.
I wouldn't.
I wouldn't say I was depressed.
Obviously, I had a lot of goodpeople around me and there was
just more anger, I think, andsadness in that moment.
But I kind of had to push thoseaway and and really focus on
what was going on, because Iwanted to be there for my team
(16:55):
and in CAAs I want to be able toperform Me and Dino butted
heads a little bit that week.
I remember we had a pretty badargument at practice where he
was trying to motivate me,brought it up and I was like I
can't deal with that right now.
So there was that.
So that was a little bit ofthat anger.
But yeah, I think thatin-between period between those
two meets was just superstressful and I mean that
(17:18):
definitely helped me goingforward, being able to get past
that and still put up a decenttime.
But in c's, yeah, I would sayright after, during that hard
training, because when youdouble taper, I mean you're, you
get right back to it, you'redoing some of the hardest sets.
We did something like six, fivehundreds, like on 530, like go
(17:41):
sub 440, sub 4435, sub 430,twice.
So that that was the one whereI came to a head with Dino and
we argued a little bit.
So I just remember thatpractice pretty vividly actually
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Yeah, so then your fifth year.
Had you always planned to takethe fifth year, or did the
disqualification play into that?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
No, even from after, like my sophomore year, braden
had talked to me about it justbecause he I think he could see
that I was someone who was goingto keep improving and with with
trials being that summer, itmade perfect sense to stay in it
, so that was always the plan.
I'm so happy that I was able toget that opportunity.
Obviously, a lot of bad thingscame out of COVID, but that was
(18:26):
one of the good things in mylife that I was able to get from
that.
So yeah, I knew that obviously Ifocused on trials after NCAAs
but I stayed in shape throughoutthe summer.
I didn't have the greatest meetlong course.
We went to Colorado Springs inMay, did a ton of long course
freestyle training, whichactually kind of messed up my
shoulder a little bit, so I hadto deal with that too, going
(18:49):
into short course season in ourtraining room a lot.
But yeah, the fifth year was sogood to have that and I think
that really gave me a lot ofmotivation for the harder
practices and the harder partsin the fall where we're doing a
lot of rocktober training, as tocall it.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
So you get the DQ, you go to NCAAs, you have a
great mile, your best time up tothat point.
Then you have the summer trialsand you go back to training in
the fall, prior to going andresurrecting this loss and
winning the ACC's again in notnearly as likely a scenario, or
(19:26):
nearly as friendly a scenario,with a lot more pressure.
Did it start out from the verybeginning of the year?
I'm going to win ACC's or wasit just kind of in the
background?
Yeah, no pressure.
How is the plan for the yeargoing into that?
Speaker 2 (19:41):
yeah, I didn't want to like.
I didn't want it to likedominate my headspace.
I think I've learned a lotabout mental clarity and just
having a good mindset going intothings.
I would use it for motivation alot in certain practices where
I didn't feel good.
I was like come on, like yougot to give yourself the best
chance you can.
And we actually had DavidBethlehem, the Hungarian guy,
(20:01):
who was there and I was likethis guy is my competition,
because at that point the Caldistance freestyler hadn't come
because he was a January guy butunfortunately David had to go
back to Hungary.
Problems with the federation, Iwon't get into all that.
But now then after that I waslike, okay, it's like it's me
and Lance, maybe some otherpeople, but like I know that
I've done the work.
(20:22):
So I, I just I kept building.
My biggest thing throughout thehard training parts of the year
is kind of getting these testsets that really really give me
that confidence that I know thatduring a race I'm going to be
able to be able to hold on sothat I can go out fast enough,
because that's something I'vehad to like kind of focus on in
college.
Obviously, as a club swimmer Iwas pretty done with my
(20:45):
strategies where I would kind offinish the last 50 and be three
or two or three seconds fasterand I'm like, okay, I knew I had
more and yeah, I had.
I had really good dual meetswims.
I posted the best time 847 inthe thousand in Georgia, and
then me and Lance went reallyfast in mid-season.
And then obviously the LucasHenvo, the Belgium Olympian, was
(21:07):
added to Cal's roster kind ofsurprisingly in January and then
he posted a 14.29.
And like I know that I've donework to go that time, but
obviously you never know likehow you're going to feel at a
race, how you're going to feelduring it, obviously still
dealing with my shoulder stuff,like I don't know how it's going
to impact me.
So yeah, there, I don't think Isaid like I have to win,
(21:32):
because I knew that would havedone too much to my mind.
I was like I'm okay with what'sgoing to happen, but I never
counted myself out.
And do you want me to go intolike just the pre-race strategy
and like, yeah, what was goingon?
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, yeah and I would love for you to address a
couple of things while you'retalking about, like that mental
clarity you talked about, sojust maybe, what that means to
you.
Like, like also, what are youthinking when you're in that
grueling pain in the middle ofthe race, like you hit the hit
45 on the the counter and you'relike, oh no, I've got another
500.
How am I feeling?
(22:07):
And then also talk about someof the test set, or a test set
that might have gotten you readyfor that, and then, just then,
leading up to it, I'd love toknow and what and what you felt
when you hit the wall and sawyeah.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
So two of the test sets that we've done the last
three years the first one isduring Christmas training.
It's eight, 800 short courseyards on eight minutes were
suited.
My goal was to be around seven,30 on all of them or descend to
kind of.
So I started out 740, kind ofdescended down each one.
I actually finished with a 718,which was really really good
(22:44):
for me.
So that was one of the onesthat gave me confidence.
And then Dino loves a set wherewe do 33, one fifties on, like
one, 45 suited as well.
One aerobic, one white, one goand I held 116 low to 115 high
and then finished with a 114.
(23:04):
Oh, also short course.
And yeah, those, those two werereally really good confidence
boosters because they werebetter than I had ever been and
yeah.
So, mental clarity this issomething that I've worked on,
or worked on a while back withsports psych.
I did a few meetings with themjust to kind of get negative
thoughts out of my head, and Ido this during practice as well
as during meets, where I playmusic in my head, almost like
(23:28):
kind of singing to myself, butnot really.
It's always songs that I knowand it helps if I have music in
practice.
But for me specifically, I havethree songs in the mile where
I'll play them in my head andobviously I still think some,
but it kind of keeps me in myrhythm, keeps me in my zone.
And that last one is one that Iknow will kind of like I don't
(23:49):
know like trigger my body tomake me give it all I have Like
sometimes when I'm justlistening to it in the car I'll
get goosebumps because I've liketrained my mind that way.
So I play those.
Before the races I listened tosome other music to hype me up.
I have a pretty very, verystrict three hours routine in
the mile because I always haveso much time.
So I'll warm up about 2000yards and then 50 minutes before
(24:14):
my race I'll I'll take somecaffeine, put my suit on, do a
500 or so suited with some pace,and then I get warm and I
listen to my music to get kindof in that racing zone.
But I get into the zonethroughout the day because I'm
usually racing in the afternoon.
So that that zone really hasbeen something that I've kind of
(24:39):
cultivated and worked on overthe last four years.
Yeah, and then during the race Imean I knew that I had to stick
with Envo and I was right nextto him, which is great.
I got a little bit of a draft.
He's a big guy and that wasnice.
Open water swimmers will knowhow much a draft can can help
you and I did some of that inclubs.
So I've obviously been someonewho's always thinking about it
during a race if it's apossibility.
(25:03):
And, yeah, I kind of made mymove pretty early.
So many people talked to me andthey were like I thought you
were going to die and I I pulledahead quite a bit.
Actually, I think I made mymove around like the 650.
And then when I see 47 on thecounter, that's when I kind of
just give it everything I havefor the rest, like almost a
sprint.
Obviously, in a distance race,a sprint is different than like
others, cause your body is justdying and focusing on turns.
(25:26):
But I always told myself likeduring that race, cause the guy
who actually got second wassomeone else, not the cow guy,
it was a Stanford guy and he hewas.
He was negative splitting.
But I was like don't, don'tever like get comfortable here.
Like you got to keep pushing.
You got to keep pushing, whichhelped me win the race by almost
five seconds and post a reallyreally good best time 14, 31 and
(25:48):
yeah, I mean it.
It didn't even feel real when Itouched and I finished.
Obviously I I had that thatline ball don't lie kind of kind
of loaded up in my mind.
I was like, oh, this, thiswould be cool.
But yeah, it was just likeoverwhelming, like joy,
obviously, a huge feeling ofvictory, and I was very, very, I
(26:08):
had a lot of gratitude.
I texted a lot of people Thankyou who are obviously like
reaching out and sayingcongratulations, like it.
Just it just kind of likeflowed out of me.
It was great.
My, a lot of my family wasthere, aside from my little
brother who's in college rightnow so he couldn't come, but he
was able to make it 10 C's,which was really, really special
and yeah, it was just so much.
The two biggest emotions weredefinitely joy and then
(26:30):
victorious kind of.
It was really awesome, like Iwas talking with my friends just
like a week after and I waslike this is like the kind of
happiness that like lasts such along time, like it's, it's like
true happiness because it comesfrom that work that you put in,
and again that overcomingdefeat there.
(26:50):
So it made all that sacrifice,all that discipline, all the
pain from the year before allworth it for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yeah, this is the kind of accomplishment that you
can look back on your entirelife and I mean, this is the
beauty of swimming you getsomething like this out and
there are smaller comebacks thatwe all have.
Yours has just been so publicand so watched and you know that
you can look back and say, well, I did that then.
(27:21):
And then you can do it in yourthirties and your forties and
your fifties, and we all needcomebacks all the time.
It doesn't even have to be inswimming, it can be whatever
your work or your health orsomething.
But so, oh, and I have to askif you're, if you're, writing
the wrong.
I was really hoping you wouldget on the lane rope and throw
(27:44):
your arms in the air aftereverybody finished the heat.
At least, did you?
Did anybody other than me askyou to do that, or did?
Did you think about it?
Speaker 2 (27:56):
I, I 100 thought about it.
I actually did a little pumpfake of the celebration, but I I
didn't want to, I didn't wantto risk anything, even if they
were all done.
The same official who dq'd mewas there, so I was not trying
to mess around with that.
Obviously there were a lot ofjokes with that.
I, I had a good celebration.
I'm someone who likes tocelebrate.
Obviously there were a lot ofjokes with that.
I had a good celebration.
I'm someone who likes tocelebrate.
Obviously I have a lot ofemotion tied to my swims and it
(28:19):
is something that I like to doto like kind of get the team
fired up, especially at biggermeets.
But yeah, I thought about it.
The guy next to me was like yo,you're going to get in lane,
right.
I was like, no, but I knewbetter than to do that.
No, I let my actions speak forthemselves.
And then I had a little bit ofsaying like ball don't lie,
(28:39):
obviously.
And I talked about-.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Explain that for me, ball don't lie.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
Yeah.
So it's kind of something thatcomes from basketball where,
like, if a call is bad, like youshoot for it to like say like,
oh, this call was right.
Rashid Wallace is the personwho, at least Google, has shown
up there.
Yeah, a lot of basketball, itcomes from basketball and it's
something that now my friendshave been saying a lot of ever
(29:05):
since.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah, that makes total sense.
So are your songs, your threesongs that you sing during the
mild top secret, or can youshare those?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
The first one is no Church in the Wild, which is
Jay-Z and Kanye, and then thesecond one is a song called On
and On.
It's kind of like an EDM song.
And then the last one is theShow Goes On by Lupe Fiasco and
it's kind of like the beat kindof matters.
So that's why I like that firstone, because it's like a slow,
steady.
(29:34):
And then the second one buildsjust like I like to build, and
the last one, it just alwaysgets me fired up.
I've liked it ever since, likemiddle school, so it's kind of
been my, my go-to pump up songand it, it, it's applicable.
That last one I, I, I felt likeit.
The lyrics are.
The lyrics are good too andthey get me going.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Yeah, I think more distance swimmers sing or listen
to songs in their head thanthan we think.
So I like to hear that, becausedefinitely a lot of people that
I've talked to and I, I did thesame thing.
So now you are, you've retired,you're, you're out of it,
you've had this the best seasonever that you've ever had, and
(30:15):
how does it feel kind of a monthout now that?
Speaker 2 (30:19):
you're done.
Yeah, it's definitely exciting.
I still like I think I need tolike journal some about what I
feel.
Obviously, I had so manyemotions at ACC's.
My training after was just sogreat going into NCAA so I knew
that I could be a little bitfaster.
Obviously, that double taper isstill pretty hard and the field
there was insane because I went10 seconds faster than last
(30:41):
year but I got the exact sameplace.
So there was a really tightbattle between like third to
seventh there.
Obviously, zalon and Rex werepulling ahead a little bit more
and they both had phenomenalswims.
So the competitor in me waslike, oh, I could have gotten
third, but like that's not theend of the world.
Obviously, I still broke thatreally big barrier of 14 minutes
(31:01):
and 30 seconds, so that wassomething I was super proud of.
But yeah, I mean I I'mextremely grateful for
everything and everyone that wasable to.
Kind of let me have thatstorybook ending.
I'm super excited to stayaround the sport I want to be.
I want to be a college coachand I'm coaching at a club in
(31:22):
North Carolina while I finishedmy master's degree.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Have you?
Have you thought about writingout the whole incident?
Just putting it down?
Speaker 2 (31:32):
My dad has told me that I should, and I think I
will.
I might wait till school's outto just kind of make it my
summer thing, but or at least doit then.
But yeah, I've been putting itoff a little bit, but I think
that I will, and I've had peoplebe like yo, you should write a
book, like yeah, no, I don'tknow.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Oh, yeah, there's a book in there, really, truly For
sure, you would have to journaland explore those emotions of
what was I feeling?
What was I really feeling?
What was I really thinking?
Who was there for me?
And certainly I would love toread that book.
But I'm a fan girl.
I'm a little bit geeked out onwhat you did.
And do you feel like you've hada little celebrity, a little 15
(32:12):
minutes of fame?
I mean, how has that been?
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Yeah, it was definitely more last year.
I was kind of hoping that, like, the big outlets that picked it
up last year would pick it upthis year.
There's been pockets of peoplesending me YouTube shorts,
instagram reels of some somepeople making stuff about it,
and then, of course, within NCstate it's it's made a lot of
noise.
I've gotten to do someinterviews, which has been
pretty cool.
So, yeah, the, the fame is cool.
Obviously, the the actualfeeling of winning is much, much
(32:42):
better, because I'm provingthat to myself, not to anyone
else.
And, yeah, it was that was theonly like silver lining last
year was like, oh, like, I guesspeople now know my name
somewhat, but now it's like theyknow my name and I backed it up
.
So it was kind of cool to havethat be something that was kind
of like rat rectified comparedto last year.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Yeah, for sure.
So this will certainly lookgreat on your coaching resume
because you can talk to the kids.
Whoever you're coaching youngkids, college kids, masters,
whoever you're coaching is goingto be quite familiar with your
story and you're going to beable to use that, the that
experience, to be a better coach.
What, what type of coaching doyou see yourself doing?
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I've got club, at least for a year.
I'm going to look for collegejobs, but I want to be in.
I want to be in college.
For now, at least, that's thegoal.
I have no idea where.
I have no idea what I mean.
I'm assuming I would probablycoach distance for now, but I'm
really excited to learn moreabout the shorter races.
I'm going to get to work withWolfpack, leden and NC State
(33:48):
this summer and then in thespring as well, in addition to
the club coach job that I haveat Wave.
So I'm excited to learn a lot,because I know that I need to
learn a lot.
So that's my number one goalthe next couple of years.
But, yeah, college.
I mean hope it'd be awesome ifI could make it to be a head
coach.
That would be a dream come true.
So that's the end goal for sure.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
And you've certainly had some incredible experience
there watching Braden Hollowayfor five years and an Olympic
coach and Mark Bernardino forswimming with him.
So I think you've got a greatresume All right.
Oh, and is there anything thatI have not asked you, that you
think that our listeners mightwant to know or that you want to
share?
Speaker 2 (34:32):
I guess I'll share some quotes that I really like.
The first one is pressure is aprivilege, so that's one that I
always tell myself.
I think it was Billie Jean Kingsaid that, and it kind of
reminds me that where you're ina position to feel that pressure
, it is a blessing that you havesomething that you care about,
(34:53):
that you have something whereyou have to perform, or you have
people that are that you love,that are supporting you and
counting on you like a team.
So that's something that always, that always gets me through
really, really hard stuff.
Yeah, I'll just, I'll justleave it with that that pressure
is a privilege and that'sthat's a good thing to remember
when you're, when you're facingthose nerves I love that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
All right, are you ready to do some sprinter round
questions?
What is your favorite sandwich?
Speaker 2 (35:25):
oh, I'm a big fan of like the like chicken, avocado,
bacon kind of paninis.
What do you own that you shouldthrow out?
Extra gadgets that I'veacquired, or maybe give away,
not throw out, but I've I've toomuch stuff from just certain
random meat gifts or birthdaypresents or christmas gifts
(35:48):
what's the scariest animal toyou?
Speaker 1 (36:00):
to you, ooh, maybe like a snake, but I also hate
cockroaches.
Okay, what celebrity would you?
Speaker 2 (36:03):
most like to meet Hmm , I think your girl either
Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.
What is the hardest books about?
Speaker 1 (36:14):
them yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
What is the hardest?
I've read some good books aboutthem.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Yeah, what is the hardest swimming event in the
pool?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Age old question For you.
I don't know Either the 4am orthe mile, I really can't decide.
Just both are very hard toexecute correctly and you feel a
lot of pain.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
One of your favorite movies.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
I'm a big fan of the gladiator interstellar.
Got to see that imx this year.
It's pretty cool.
I love star wars.
I like.
I like both of the doom movies.
Those are also good onesrecently all right, favorite
smell I guess guess just thesmell of good food.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Do you make your bed every morning?
Speaker 2 (36:58):
No, I do not.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Do you prefer a kickboard or no kickboard?
When given the choice,kickboard.
If you had to listen to onesong for the rest of your life,
what would it be?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
I guess I got to go with.
Show Goes On.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Window or aisle.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
Window for sure, I like to be able to sleep, if I
can.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Describe your life in five words Ooh.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Like currently, or just my whole life story.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Whatever you feel like, or just my whole life
story.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Whatever you feel like Laughter, friendship,
family, hard work I don't knowwhat the last one is Fun.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Fun, I like it, okay, what word?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
comes to mind when you dive in the water.
I'd say like disciplinediscipline.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Okay, I like it well, wonderful.
Oh, and thank you so much forspending the time with us.
It was really awesome and we'llbe looking for that book from
you.
I'll let you know yeah, thanksfor being on the show.
Thank you for having me.
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