University of Tennessee Athletics
Walsh, Slater Travel to Olympic Trials
February 29, 2012 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 29, 2012
BY WELLER ROSS
UTSPORTS.COM
The SEC Swimming and Diving Championships are in the books, but junior Ed Walsh and freshman Tristan Slater have one trans-Atlantic detour before the NCAAs.
After career performances at the SECs, Walsh and Slater are flying overseas to London this week to swim at the Olympic Trials to try to land a spot on the British National Team for the 2012 Games.
Walsh, team captain and London native, will practically be swimming in his backyard this week, having grown up not far from the Olympic swimming complex. At the SEC Championships, he finished 11th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a career-best time of 55.07, and he also placed 11th in the 100 freestyle in a time of 43.81. He clocked in at 20.01 in the 50 freestyle.
Slater has steadily improved as his first season has progressed and enjoyed a break-out conference meet. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after reaching the final in two events. He finished sixth in the 400 IM in 3:48.51 and eighth in the 200 IM after swimming 1:47.40 in the final. He also placed 13th in the 200 breaststroke.
Here's a quick interview from the two Vols before they board planes for London.
Weller Ross: What events will you be swimming at the Olympic Trials?
Ed Walsh: I'm going to be swimming the 100 freestyle on Tuesday, with the first heats in the morning, the semi-finals in the afternoon, and the finals on Wednesday night, and hopefully I'll be in that. Then on Friday will be the 50 freestyle and hopefully I'll make the finals in that as well.
Tristan Slater:: I will be swimming the 200 IM, 400 IM, 100 breaststroke, and 200 breaststroke.
WR: You performed really well at the SEC Championships. How has that helped prepare you for the Trials?
EW: It gave me a big confidence boost. I hit a personal best at the SECs in all three events, which helps give me a positive mindset. It's always nice to have great swims to build some self-esteem before swimming in a big meet.
TS: The SECs were a big stage so as far as preparation goes it felt like I was getting ready for the Olympic Trials. I had to focus, I had to visualize my races, it was a good warmup for the Olympic Trials in general.
WR: You just had the SECs, now you're going to the Olympic qualifiers in England, and then you're coming back and swimming in the NCAAs. How do you prepare yourself for three big meets in a row like that?
EW: I've been speaking to coach Lars (Jorgensen) and he's been having me work on keeping both my pace and endurance up, so I completely tapered for the SECs then upped my aerobic base this week, and will bring it down when I get to England in a couple of days, because on the long course you need more endurance, so this should help me be able to finish a good 100 freestyle at the Olympic Trials, and then I'm going to try to hold my pace up for the NCAAs as well. It should be interesting. I hope it goes well.
TS: This is the first time I've had to do anything like this. It's going to be interesting trying to cope, but hopefully I'll be able to continue performing well. Coach Lars has helped make sure I'll be in top shape for all three competitions.
WR: What are your expectations for the Trials?
EW: It's been a crazy year. I've tried not to focus too much on the Olympic Trials; trying to focus on what will be the best for Tennessee during the season. Now that we've finished up the SECs I've started really focusing on the Olympic Trials, because it's my next meet. I really thought the best thing for me to do was just to have fun and think about going over there and enjoying swimming. I haven't set a goal for myself, I'm just going to do the best I can, because that's the approach I had going into the SECs and I swam my best times so I'm just going to go and have fun.
TS: I'm aiming more for the 2016 Olympics so the London 2012 Olympic Trials is going to be a good opportunity to see what the flavor is for something like this, but I'm aiming to make the finals in at least one event.
WR: Will you get to see any family and friends while you're back in England?
EW: Yes. My friends and family bought tickets for the meet so they'll be watching me swim. My mum hadn't seen me swim for three years until she got to see me at the SECs. It'll be great for her to watch me swim in England again. It's going to be really exciting, because my friends haven't gotten to see me swim in four or five years so it will be a great opportunity to show them how great Tennessee has been for me.
TS: My aunts will be there and my mum will be there, and so will my sister and some of my old club mates, which will be pretty cool.
WR: How has it been trying to juggle all of this on top of your course load?
EW: My instructors have been really reasonable. I'm really fortunate to have great, great professors here at Tennessee. You mention Olympic Trials to them and they get all excited: "oh gosh, I can't stop you from going to the Olympics" because then they'd just feel like a terrible person. They understand that with it being an Olympic year so several athletes are trying to make the Olympics for their home country. I'm going to try to stay on top of my studies, and I'm not leaving until Thursday so that I can stay here as long as I can and miss as little of class as possible.
TS: It's been tough in general to keep up with classes and swimming. During the SECs I fell behind a bit. I've managed to catch up but I'm just trying to stay on top of things and communicate with my teachers and most of them are very understanding so I just try to get some school work done whenever I have a free moment.
WR: What do you do to entertain yourself on a long international flight?
EW: My flight to London got upgraded, which is really lucky. I'm going to try to sleep for most of the way because once I get there I need to stay awake to make sure I don't get jet lagged too badly and when I land in England at six in the morning I'm going to stay awake until that night so I can push past that jet lag.
TS: Normally I watch a movie or listen to some music, but I think this time I'm actually going to have to buckle down and do some work to write an essay on the plane.
WR: How do you handle the jet lag when you compete in your first event only a few days after landing in London?
EW: I will have about four days before my first event, so that first night is going to be the most important night. I'm going to make sure I stay awake and then get a good nights sleep that following night. I think it's more of a mental thing; I know I'm in the right shape of mind so I shouldn't have any problem getting over the jet lag.
TS: I managed to get a good flight that leaves early tomorrow morning, so I land in London late, which means if I stay awake during the flight and go asleep when I get there I'll be able to get over the jet lag. I'll get a good night's sleep tonight, which will help too. I'm hoping I can cope with the jet lag and I'll just have to hope three days is long enough to get over the jet lag. I'm going to keep it in my head that it is and keep a good optimistic attitude.
WR: Will you know any of your competition at the Trials?
EW: A lot of the other guys swim in America as well. I even raced at the SECs against some of the guys that will be at the Olympic Trials. It will also be good to race against some competitors that I haven't seen in three or four years. It will be good to show them how much of a benefit Tennessee has been to me and how much it's helped me improve as a swimmer and a person.
TS: There are a few guys I competed with in the SECs and some guys I know from back home that I will be racing against.
WR: Is there anybody in particular that you're looking forward to racing again?
EW: I try not to underestimate anyone. Names are just names. I've got to focus on myself because anyone can come out at any time and have the race of their life.
TS: I'm looking forward to racing Dan Wallace, who swims for Florida. Last year he beat my by about six seconds but this year he only beat me by one second, so it'll be on interesting race on the long course.
