Katie McLaughlin had finally settled into her niche as a professional swimmer and was gearing toward making the Olympic team this summer, when everyone’s plans changed because of the coronavirus.
While the pandemic forced some swimmers to have to make tough decision about training an extra year or possibly retire, McLaughlin, freshly into the pro ranks, was already planning on swimming past 2020.
“I had already decided I wanted to go another year anyway. Regardless, I wanted to swim through 2021 and then reassess. It did stink because we had been working so hard for the Olympics and Trials to be this year,” Katie McLaughlin told Swimming World. “I definitely had mixed feelings. It has affected everyone differently. Some people are just done and that stinks.”
The most stressful part was trying to still train for the Olympics before they were postponed.
“For those couple of weeks where pools were closing and trials was still on, that was so stressful. That was not fun to try to figure out how to stay in shape and be ready to race. I really thought that is was what would be happening,” she said. “Now we don’t have to break the rules to train. That is not what we should be doing. We are not above what is going on. I think it is a good thing that we can stay healthy and help keep everyone else healthy.”
McLaughlin has remained healthy and active, trying to make the best of the quarantine. But she has enjoyed the challenge of finding new things to do physically.
“It is definitely weird. This is the longest I have ever gone without training in the water. I definitely want to be back in the pool, but it is interesting trying to be creative to stay in shape,” she said. “Getting to be creative and figuring out what today holds. It is kind of a fun change, though I would rather be in the pool. I have been doing some dry land in my apartment, finding online ab circuits and yoga and doing some hiking and running. I have been trying to eat well, so I can keep that going, too. I think I am in decent shape, definitely not racing shape. But I am not going to pass out on a 30-minute run.
“I have been pretty good about doing something every day. I don’t really like being inside, so it isn’t hard to force myself to walk around.”
Katie McLaughlin at the 2019 World Championships. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant
McLaughlin participated in the inaugural International Swimming League (ISL) as a part of the LA Current and signed a sponsorship deal with FINIS in January.
She finished ninth at the 2019 World Championships in the 100 butterfly and anchored the silver-medal winning 4×200 relay for the U.S, and also swam on the prelims relay of the 4×100 medley that won gold.
At Cal, she was on several NCAA title relays and made her mark conquering the daily double of the 100 fly and 200 free, earning All-American honors in both events the past two years on the same night. Last year, she took third in the 100 fly in 49.97, breaking Natalie Coughlin’s school record from 2002.
She took that momentum into her first pro year and was looking forward to what she could do at the Olympic Trials.
In her first year outside the college scene, gauging times throughout the year has been more difficult. After teammate Amy Bilquist left to go home to Arizona and Dana Vollmer retired, she was the only pro among all the college swimmers at Cal.
“I don’t know how I was. I had been training really hard, but it is kind of hard to know until you are there,” McLaughlin said. “It has been different than any other year in my career because I was the only pro on the women’s side. There is nothing to compare it to. I didn’t have dual meet times to compare to like during school. I definitely trust my training and Teri (McKeever), but you really never know.”
Under McKeever’s tutelage, McLaughlin has thrived in a plethora of events and been able to go up against the best in the world, sometimes in multiple events in the same night.
Katie McLaughlin and Teri McKeever. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
But McLaughlin said, learning about life situations and transitions from McKeever has been what stands out in their relationship.
“Teri has been so helpful. Something that is nice about transitioning is that Teri has a lot of experience with pros. She is someone I could lean on when I had questions when I was learning to navigate everything,” Katie McLaughlin said.
“I am pretty hard on myself in my head. That is something that I struggle with. Teri has really helped me with that. When I am not performing well, I am immediately feeling like I didn’t work hard enough, which is definitely not the case. Maybe other things are going well. Maybe I am practicing well even if the races aren’t going well. My times are not going to define me. Times are just pieces of information. Why am I going to beat myself up about it? I definitely have improved. There is so much more about swimming than the final result. If I wasn’t trying or doing my best, then I can be mad at myself. But if I am doing my best, what more can you ask for? Teri has really helped me grow as a person. It isn’t about times.
“She has been very supportive, especially since I was the only pro female this year. When I needed something different, she was willing to help. Honestly, I am very lucky.”
Now, McLaughlin is right where she dreamed of being. Despite a severe neck injury in 2016 and other setbacks along the way, McLaughlin is a professional swimmer, poised to make a run at the Olympic team in 2021.
“It is definitely crazy. I think every young athlete dreams of being a pro in their sport. It definitely is cool. I always wanted to be where I am today. There were definitely some times where I didn’t think it was in the cards for me,” she said. “Even though I knew I could get back to this, I needed to be able to enjoy the sport. Even though I am a pro and technically, it is my job, I want to keep loving the sport in the same way when I was young. I don’t want to make it a big deal. I just want to keep enjoying what I am doing.”
Now, she is enjoying new ways to keep in shape and new ways to connect to the swimming community.
“In general, a lot of my best friends live here, but several of them do not. Even without the pandemic, living through Face Time or Instagram was becoming the normal thing,” Katie McLaughlin said. “It is definitely cool to see what people are doing across the country. People are training in their garages without much equipment. Just getting other ideas is cool. The swimming community is pretty connected and that is special.”