Louisville head coach Arthur Albiero held a virtual press conference on Thursday to discuss how his swimmers have returned to the pool in Phase I of re-opening after the COVID-19 shutdown. Thus far, only the undergrad swimmers at the University of Louisville have been allowed to return to practice, as the postgrads were not a part of Louisville’s plan in Phase I.
Albiero discussed in the press conference that swimmers must fill out a questionnaire every day before practice, explaining if they have experienced any symptoms of COVID. The athletes are not allowed to enter the facility until the questionnaire is complete. They must stay at least six feet apart and wear masks at all times except when they are in the water. Locker rooms are not open for use and they come in and out of the facility wearing their swimsuits. The Louisville athletic trainers are also on deck taking temperatures of the athletes before they enter the facility.
The Louisville team gets only an hour of swimming in at their facility each day and no one as of yet has tested positive for the virus. 13 swimmers and 2 divers have been allowed in the facility and have been able to swim one per lane as the lanes are naturally eight feet apart.
Arthur Albiero said the team has been back in the water for two weeks, and is just focusing on maintaining a feel for the water without preparing for any competitions in the near future.
Louisville has a plethora of professional swimmers training in hopes of making the 2021 Olympic team including Kelsi Dahlia, Mallory Comerford and Zach Harting, who all swam at the 2019 World Championships for the United States. Dahlia has been training in an inflatable pool in her backyard as she is one of many national team swimmers getting creative in finding new and innovative ways to stay in shape during the required quarantine.
Albiero weighed in on the possibilities that there will still be a college season this fall and that they are preparing for that possibility that students will be allowed back on campus. As for the potential that the Olympic Games might not happen if the virus is still not under control by next year, Arthur Albiero ensured that he is not considering that possibility because it would be “devastating” if that became a reality, not only for the athletes but the sport as a whole.
Arthur Albiero’s press conference can be seen below:
.png "ACC Swimming - logo"){kind=logo}