When Torri Huske found out she would have to be out of the water for a while, there were mixed emotions.
The high school junior — and defending Swimming World High School Swimmer of the Year — had been training for the 2020 Olympic trials, aiming for a spot on the U.S. team.
That is a lot of pressure for a high schooler, especially when the trials were still on, but pools were closed.
“I feel like I was relieved at first. I wasn’t able to practice and at that time, trials was still on. I was a little worried. But it was mostly a relief. It has allowed me to reset my mindset and be even better for most trials,” Torri Huske told Swimming World. “Overall it is definitely not going to hurt my meet in any way. It will only help me and set me up to do even better.”
Torri Huske on the cover of Swimming World Magazine in August 2019
But it was still a lot to digest in a short amount of time.
“I feel like the first change was when they canceled NSCAs two days before we were going to go down. That is when we realized how serious this was. That practice ended up being our last Wakefield practice because they started closing down the pools in our area,” she said. “We had to go by ourselves for a while. Then the pool started closing down and everything changed.”
Including Huske’s training mentality.
Always a sleek and slender swimmer, the five-time gold medalist at the 2019 World Junior Championships, used the time away from the water to work on her strength.
“I feel like I have been making the best of it. I am focusing on aspects that I wouldn’t have been able to as much, like strength. I feel like a lot of people I swim against are stronger than me, so I have been finally able to work on that,” she said.
It took some time for Huske to find a routine.
“Initially, I was working out in overdrive. I would work out for a couple hours, then go on a hike then work out again,” she said. “But that was too much, then I started developing a routine.”
That routine is working.
“I run once a week and do a sprint workout in the morning. Three times during the week, I have been able to swim in a backyard pool, about 40 minutes away,” she said. “The other mornings I will do 45 minutes on the rower and 45 minutes on the bike in my basement. In the afternoon every day, I do 45 on the rower and 45 on the bike, then weights sometimes and running hills.”
Torri Huske; Photo Courtesy: Connor Trimble
It is transforming Huske into a stronger force in the water, which could pay off big time in the 2021 Olympic trials. She has proved to belong among the nation’s elite, winning world junior gold in the 50 and 100 fly, and silver in the 100 free. She also won the US Open in the 100 butterfly last December.
But all of that success hasn’t changed Huske’s drive or work ethic.
“There wasn’t a definitive moment (where I realized how far I have come),” she said. “Everything happened gradually. The one time I realized (the progress I have made) was dropping 2 seconds (to 53) in my 100 fly at my first winter nationals.”
Of course, competing at world juniors and winning a national title were moments of realization, too, for her and her club coach Evan Stiles at Arlington Aquatic Club.
Now, Huske is set up to be even stronger heading into the 2021 trials, where another big realization could happen.
But for now, she is just hoping to return to a little bit of a routine, especially for her senior year at Yorktown High School, where she has already won 11 state championships under Torey Ortmayer.
Normal time in the water. Normal time with her friends. Normal high school activities.
“I am just hoping that it is a normal high school year, “ Torri Huske said. “But you never really know.”