Outside reading post 6: Golden Girl

The end of my biography ends with what everyone is doing after the Olympics. While some are already focusing on the next big meet, Natalie is thinking differently. She said "I don't really have the time constraints that I did before the last Olympics, and since I've already gotten that gold, I don't have that hanging over my head" (283). Natalie was very excited to have some time to relax. She could now focus more on her studies, and a lot of pressure had been taken off her shoulders, since she had won the gold she had been working for all her life. Natalie's coach Teri Mckeever had similar thoughts. She told Michael Silver that "On the flight home from Athens, I told myself that first and foremost, I'm going to get a life" (276). Teri was ready to relax too. She wanted to catch up with her family, who mostly lives out of state. Athens also inspired Teri to do some more traveling, and focus less on swimming, and more on the people who inspire her daily.

Q2 Outside Reading Post 4

The section I read in my book was about the Olympic trials. Everyone from all over the US were getting ready, and getting nervous. Days before the trials, Natalie's coach Teri Mckeever said "Obviously I'm nervous. It's such a tense atmosphere around here" (229). Everyone in the trials all had the same goal: make the Olympic team. Only few could make it, though, which probably was the reason for all the nervousness. Swimmers were feeling the nerves too. Mckeever said that "most people are going slower than you'd expect, and that's because this meet is so emotionally overwhelming" (229). Not only were the swimmers anxious for the meet, but sometime the nerves would end up affecting their performance. When there is a meet as big as the Olympic trials, there are bound to be a lot of nerves.
The meet is also an emotional one. Some ecstatic, some devastated. A former swimmer Amanda Hall said "you should see the warm-down pool. It's half chlorine, half tears" (236). Most of these tears were disappointed ones. Many swimmers childhood dreams of going to the Olympics had just been lost, and the were very upset. On the other hand, some were very excited. When Coughlin made it in her event. Coughlin was "dancing around in her black sweats like a prizefighter, all smiles" (242). She accomplished what she meant to do, and was now fulfilling her dream of going to the Olympics.

Q2 Outside Reading post 4: Golden Girl

Many times in a swimmers life they feel like they want to quit. Sometimes, Natalie Coughlin used to want to tell swimmers to give up "Get out, now, before this sport devours your body and spirit. Trust me. I know" (126). The toll swimming takes on your mind, body, and spirit, can be overwhelming. Some people would quit just to get away from it all. One of Natalie's teammates, Lauren Medina, used to think the same thing. She said "So many times I just wanted to quit. I felt like I was beginning to burn out. People who I used to beat were now beating me, I swam lousy in meets and my parents started getting down on me: 'You just don't want it bad enough' At least twice a day I would think about quitting" (136). When you aren't dropping a lot of time, one may have these same thoughts. Pressure from your parents doesn't help either.
Often what helps someone not quit is a good coach. Medina said "Teri was so supportive...She said everybody makes mistakes. You're not the first person this has happened to... I felt really comforted by that" (137). Teri ended up keeping her in the sport and helped her improve. Another time Lauren thought she couldn't breathe and wanted to stop in the middle of the set. Teri said "Lauren, you're having a panic attack. It's OK; you're going to be fine. Trust me" (134). Her helpful words calmed Lauren down and she continued swimming.