It All Started With a Dream
Today marks the 20 year anniversary of winning my silver medal in the 2000 Olympic games in the 200 meter breaststroke.
TWENTY YEARS! Where did the time go? On one level, it seems like another lifetime ago. Yet, at times, it seems like it was only yesterday that I stood on the second place podium, watching an American flag raise into the rafters of the Sydney Aquatic Center.
Today I found a quote that perfectly describes my journey to becoming an Olympian:
“It starts with a dream.
Add faith,
and it becomes a belief.
Add action
and it becomes a part of life.
Add perseverance,
and it becomes a goal in sight.
Add patience and time,
and it ends with a dream come true.”
Doe Zantamata
I was just a little girl when I watched my heroes Summer Sanders and Janet Evans compete at the Olympics in 1988. I knew as soon as I saw them in their swimsuits with “USA” emblazoned on them and American flag caps with their last names printed on them that I wanted to swim in the Olympics.
I had very ambitious dreams for a little girl who was one of the shortest and slowest kids on the team!
My entry on to the international scene of swimming happened just as fast as my growth spurts (6 inches in one summer!). At 16, I made my first international team at my first ever nationals, surprising everyone including myself. This was the first time in my life I realized that my dream of becoming an Olympian might not be just a dream.
I was 17 years old at my first Olympic Trials. And in my first attempt at making the Olympics, I missed qualifying for the team by .17 of a second (ironic isn’t it?!). To add insult to injury, Swimming World Magazine featured me on its cover in a picture showing me crying on the side of the warm down pool, looking into the stands for my parents. Swimming World chose this image to represent the “agony” of the Olympic trials.
I would have to wait for four more years to try and make my dreams come true.
So patiently I waited. Every day working harder than the day before. Telling myself that lightning wouldn’t strike twice in the same place. For four years, I waited. And while I waited, I broke American records, became the first American woman to win the World Championship Title in the very event I missed becoming an Olympian in. I even was part of a relay that broke a World Record. Four years later I was ready to take my spot in history.
Have you ever thought about how long one one hundredth of a second is? It’s the amount of time it takes a hummingbird to flap its wings. It’s the amount of time it takes for lightning to strike the ground. It’s quite literally a blink of an eye. And that is the amount of time I would miss the Olympic team by in my second attempt of becoming an Olympian.
But I am stubborn, I am determined, and I am persistent.
Three days after missing the team, I qualified in the 200 meter breaststroke.
It all began with a dream. A dream that I had faith that I could achieve. It took hard work and determination. I knew that every action was bringing me closer to my dream. I persevered through heart crushing defeats, learning a little bit more about myself with each disappointment. I never lost sight of my goals. I patiently waited for my opportunity to prove that dreams can come true.
And they did. My dreams came true.
It was worth the wait.
