Matt Grevers Getting Set for Fun 50 Free: ‘Cool to Know at 39 My Body Still Has it’ (VIDEO)

When Matt Grevers heard the U.S. Olympic Trials were going to be in a football stadium he was intrigued.

Walking on deck at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Olympic gold medalist was so thrilled to act on that intrigue and qualify for the meet.

“This is incredible. I just wanted to swim in a football stadium. I am so glad I get to be here and be a part of it. The itch started at Golden Goggles. Nathan Adrian and I were there presenting and we were reading the teleprompter talking about being in a football stadium and thought that would be really cool. It kind of started there,” Matt Grevers said.

Then it was time to see what he had in the tank.

“I was curious how fast I could go with almost no training, and I wasn’t that fast. So I had to start swimming a little more seriously. It was fun. I added a little more intensity with the sprint training and ended up going kind of fast,” he said. “It is cool to know at 39 my body still has it.”

Grevers got to the wall in 22.50 to qualify, his fastest time in the event in since 2015.

Grevers was an Olympian in 2008 in Beijing and won two gold medals on relays and the silver in the 100 backstroke. Four years later, he won Olympic gold in the 100 backstroke and also on the medley relay in addition to a silver in the 400 free relay.

In 2016, Matt Grevers just missed his third games, finishing third at trials in the 100 back. In 2021, he was sixth in the 100 backstroke in what was thought to be his farewell.

Not quite the case.

“It felt like a homecoming being in this environment without any pressure is really refreshing,” he said. “Previous trials, it was my job and my livelihood. The pressure stacks each time. It is great to have a support system, but on the flip side you feel like you don’t want to let everyone down. I am just here to have fun and go as fast as I can.”

But he knows once he gets behind the blocks, it might feel different.

“I did a little pickleball tournament and I was adrenalized like it was a swim race. That is how some of us are built,” he said.

While his family was on hand to watch him qualify, his wife Annie and children 7, 4, and 1, will not be making the trip.

How about Paris if he makes it?

“I don’t even know if my wife would let ME go,” Grevers joked. “But Annie has been so amazing picking up more of the parenting stuff that allowed me to do this. I think if a lot of people had the capacity as far as financial situation or kid situation more people would. I happen to be in the situation where I can put a little time on myself.”

With veterans like Grevers, Gabrielle Rose and Breeja Larson returning, perhaps more will give a comeback a whirl. Rose made two semifinals at age 46.

“Gabby’s cheer was one of the loudest of the meet. People are rooting for the old guys. The love of the sport goes a long way,” Matt Grevers said. “In four more years maybe Nathan will come back and do it with me.”

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