U.S. Olympic Trials: Carson Foster, Gretchen Walsh Share Journey of Struggle, Mental Resilience
The glances that Carson Foster and Gretchen Walsh shared Sunday night told of more connection than a biographical sketch ever could.
Both had gotten to the podium at Lucas Oil Stadium by distinct if echoing pathways. One by way of Ohio and Texas, the other via Tennessee and Virginia – the highway exit signs differed, but each other’s adversity was instantly recognizable. So was the method of conquering those challenges.
In the crucible of U.S. Olympic Trials, they found common cause with each other: Foster after winning the 400 individual medley for his first Olympic berth, newly minted world record-holder Walsh after winning the 100 butterfly final to get to Paris. Even before that signal accomplishment in their careers, the shared vulnerability of their journeys has bonded them.
“I think even just coming here this week, as much as I’ve grown, I think there was still a fear because of what happened three years ago coming to this meet,” Foster said. “So tonight, just like being behind the blocks and feeling like a new sense of confidence about it, and like – because Gretchen and I were just talking about this right out there. It takes years of practice and years of work to feel good about that. So to touch the wall first, and then seeing Gretchen right after she made it, as well, it’s a full-circle moment for sure.”
The pain for each swimmer in Omaha was significant. Its rectification in Indianapolis was equally profound, owing to hard work in and out of the pool, especially on the mental side of the sport.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Once and for all, let’s confine the history to the file cabinet in which it belongs. Foster was first at 250 meters and second at 350 in the 400 IM at Trials in 2021 only to be passed by Jay Litherland, miss out on Tokyo and drop a 400 IM time at Austin sectionals concurrent with the Olympics that would’ve won gold. He was eighth in the 200 free, .18 off a relay spot, and fourth at the 200 IM. Walsh absorbed a devastating prelims swim in the 100 free to finish 28th when she was projected by some to maybe make the relay, then placed fifth in the 50 free in her last shot to make Tokyo, while watching sister Alex Walsh make the plane.
Both would be defined, from that meet on, with how they handled disappointment.
The path forward would be improving in the water, of course. Foster would be named a 13-time All-American in five events, including three national relay titles. He’d make himself a fixture on national teams, with two silver medals in Budapest in 2022 and silvers in consecutive world championships in the 400 IM. Walsh compiled one of the finest swimming careers in college history, with 16 national championships in three strokes and become a cornerstone of the American relay program.
For both, things started to change when they became more intentional about their mental approach to performance. Foster didn’t think it necessary at first. Three years later, he can’t imagine anything more necessary.
“Three years ago, when I was approached and asked about working with a performance coach or mental coach or confidence coach, I was almost a little bit offended,” Carson Foster said. “Deep down, I knew I needed it, but I was like, I don’t need that. It’s just kind of the stigma towards it. But I would not – I 100 percent guarantee that I would not be sitting up here if I had not done that. So now seeing the benefit of it and seeing what it actually is, it’s like, this is awesome.”
“I also would not be here today if I had not reached out for help,” she said. “I honestly started seeing Christen (Shefchunas) even before my disappointing Trials, but it took a lot for me to make it a regular habit of talking to her and seeking her advice. Even when I was performing really well, like it’s important when you’re at your highest and when you’re at your lowest to just keep doing that because you never know when you are — it’s hard to know when you are fighting inner demons and when it’s important to just talk to someone about them.”
Both swimmers will live out the silver lining to their dark clouds. The joy of this week in Indy and in Paris will be more pronounced for the tribulations they’ve surmounted to get there. That perspective is as much the reward as any medals.
“We are going to go home and wake up tomorrow morning and everything is going to be normal,” Carson Foster said. “Just kind of understanding it puts perspective in swimming a little bit, and we do it at a high level that sometimes that’s lost. But it’s still just swimming at the end of the day, and we’ve still got our families that love us, and we love them. So it’s totally changed my career.”