Top Oregon Swimmers Prepare for Their First U.S. Olympic Trials

Photo Courtesy: Nacim Bouferrache

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By Katie Lively, Swimming World College Intern

For Curtis Klein, one of the highlights of the U.S. Olympic Trials will be watching his friend Jacob Pebley attempt to make the Olympic team.

Pebley is seeded third in the 200 back. He placed seventh at the 2012 Trials in the same event. He and Klein both grew up swimming for Oregon teams—Corvallis Aquatic Team (CAT) and Lake Oswego Swim Club (LOSC), respectively.

Klein can’t stay engrossed in Pebley’s race for too long. He will have his own race to swim around the same time. Because right now, Klein is ranked third from the bottom in the same event.

“My real goal is definitely don’t get last,” Klein said. “I’ll go and see how many people I can beat.”

Klein is not alone in this sentiment. According to USA Swimming, only about the top quarter of one percent of all registered athletes qualified for this year’s Trials. For the small number vying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, this meet is the ultimate culmination of their work in and out of the pool over the last four years. For the majority of the entrants, that culmination came weeks or months ago when they made their cuts and secured their spots at the Trials.

LOSC coach Emily Melina said that for Klein and her other Trials qualifier, 15-year-old Mara Newman (ranked 109th in the 100 back), a personal best at the Trials would be a big accomplishment. Their training changed when they were attempting to achieve the Trials standard, but Melina said they are not changing much for the Trials themselves as that will not be the end of the season for either swimmer. Both plan to compete at sectionals later in July and Newman will also swim at Junior Nationals.

“It’s not really the 100 percent all in, take two weeks off afterward,” Melina said.

Photo Courtesy: Emily Melina

For 16-year-old Alayna Connor (135th in the 50 free), the big meet was the Husky Invitational in Washington this past January. Her goal was to make the Trials standard in the 50 free by taking three breaths.

She took four, and it cost her. She missed the cut by just 0.01.

“My coach and I were like, okay, we’re not going to leave this meet until we get it,” Connor said.

They decided to time her first 50 on her 100 free. It would be her 14th swim of the weekend.

Her coach at The Dolphins Portland Swimming (TDPS), Nacim Bouferrache, said he predicted halfway through her first race that she would swim a 26.2. He explained to her that she would save about 0.04 for every breath she did not take and told her that she would get the cut if she took two breaths.

She took two breaths on the second race. Bouferrache predicted a 26 flat partway through that race, and Connor ended up with a 26.08—well under the standard.

“We were all screaming,” Bouferrache said.

“Just to come back from being so close, get up and do it again, was so special for us,” Connor said.

Now, Connor hopes to go under 26 seconds at the Trials but said making it to the meet was her big goal.

“I think for me I’m really excited to go not necessarily to get a best time or anything, but to get to see how this is going to work,” Connor said.

Connor will swim at the Trials with a teammate, 21-year-old Cole Hurwitz (42nd in the 100 breast, 30th in the 200 breast). While Hurwitz hopes to make semifinals or even the finals, his main goal is to be around his best times as he recovers from a groin injury that has set him back for more than a year.

Hurwitz is looking forward to swimming at the Trials, but he’s also looking forward to the break he will have at their conclusion.

“I haven’t really taken a break from breaststroke in a while,” Hurwitz said. “Part of what I’m looking forward to the most is doing it then resting.”

Bouferrache said both of his Trials swimmers lead by example through their daily habits outside of the pool.

“That’s a big part of what we do– recovery, food, sleep. It’s not just come into practice and do hard work and go home and get less sleep, eat whatever,” Bouferrache said. “It’s about being consistent every day. I think that’s what these two are more known for.”

Bouferrache also credited assistant coach Jean-Yves Gautier for the development of all his swimmers.

“The kids love him,” Bouferrache said. “He’s helped kids a lot as far as interacting with them and helping them with technique and sets and whatever they needed.”

CAT coach Rick Guenther, who used to coach Pebley and currently coaches 18-year-old Trials qualifier Brandon Shreeve (99th in the 200 back, 96th in the 1500), took Melina and Bouferrache’s mindsets a step further and said he does not set time-specific goals with his swimmers at all. He said his focus is on coaching his swimmers to compete within their race rather than worrying about the time they won’t even see until the race is over.

Shreeve said Guenther’s focus on the race itself has meshed well with his competitive mindset.

“I’d say that’s something that’s definitely a positive,” Shreeve said. “It’s never thinking about what pace you’re going or what time you’re going to get. It’s just getting in and giving 100 percent effort.”

Instead, Guenther’s goal is that Shreeve will enjoy the experience.

“The number one goal is to go and have fun and race your backside off,” Guenther said. “Sometimes swimmers go in and lose sight of the fun of it. Olympic Trials is about fun and racing is fun.”

Shreeve said, “I just enjoy the competition, being able to compete at a high level with really the best in the world. The great thing about swimming in the U.S. is that you’re always up against the best of the best. Being part of that is something that I find to be very cool.”

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