Aug. 14, 2001

The biggest thrill of going to the World Championships would have to be getting to know all these people who I have seen on television. I always knew their names but now they knew mine. To be on and around the national team and see that they were all really nice people was fun, and to have them treat me as a peer was unbelievable. That was the biggest thrill for me. Also, the fact that I was competing for my country was the one of the biggest honors I've ever had. It doesn't matter what sport you play or participate in, competing for your country has got to be the biggest honor any athlete can have. One of the biggest highlights was receiving my Team USA jacket. The day it arrived in the mail blew my mind. All I could think was that I had hit the big time.

One of my best memories of my time in Japan was going to the swim school of our group's translator, Manny, to put on a swim clinic. About a hundred people had come to see our demonstration. The crowd was mostly people in their fifties and sixties and really young children, since all of the school age kids were in school at the time. When we first walked in all they did was clap. There was one woman who even followed us into the bathroom clapping! They were very intrigued by the United States team - it seemed like anything we could do for them, any attention we gave to the Japanese people, whether at the clinic or at the competition venue, was appreciated. They were so happy for any attention they got and were so happy to receive the smallest tokens.

Once we were done with the demonstration at the school everyone wanted a picture with us or an autograph. Each person was very grateful for anything that we were able to give out. It was very refreshing and neat to see everyone so grateful for some attention after coming from the United States where it sometimes seems as though it is expected that you give someone your autograph whenever you are approached.

Like I said, it wasn't just at the clinic that the people were all around the United States team. Another time I was at the pool passing out USA Swimming pins to kids from an American navel base located close by. I was on the pool deck and reaching up to them in the stands and once the kids from Japan realized what I was doing they came running over to get a pin and then they wanted autographs. Before I knew it, an hour had passed and I had to leave because the meet was starting.

As for the swimming, once I got in the pool it was like any other race, but the time leading up to the races was a learning experience. I was nervous, like I am before any race, prior to competing, but it was a little nerve-racking sitting with the other swimmers from my heat waiting for our turn. They had us in a ready tent before our heat, but brought us up to the pool deck one heat before ours, so you had to sit there and watch the race before yours. I just tried to relax and not think about who I was competing against. One thing that really helped is that Sue Novitsky, my coach at Illinois, was able to come to Japan. Even though the coaches for the national team were incredible, it helped to have my own coach there because she sees me swim every day and picks up on any little thing, like if my stroke is a little off, not to mention that any friendly and familiar face was a welcome sight right before my first race.

I think one of the biggest things I got out of going to my first international competition was the experience of going through everything that goes along with being at a meet of that magnitude. I find that now that I've got one under my belt I'm hungry to go back. Going to the World Championships definitely made me want more - it opened my eyes to the next level of swimming and how incredible it is to compete at that level. Just to see how well the swimmers on the national team are treated and how there are people around you to take care of any problems you may have made me realize how special of an experience it is to compete for the United States national team.

Hopefully, I can take what I learned being around these world champions and apply it to my upcoming season at Illinois. I want to go to the Big Ten Championships and, hopefully, the NCAA meet this year with a new perspective and a new found level of confidence. Swimming on the national team made me realize I have the ability to compete with the elite swimmers of the world, and that knowledge can only make me better when I return for my senior season.