Fun interview with Study Breaks Magazine

Inside Beijing - UT Olympians
The lighter side of going for gold.

Ever wonder who you're sitting next to on the bus? Is that guy with the non symmetrical, multi-colored hair the next Rod Stewart, or is that quiet girl hiding behind an over-sized backpack and a genetics book going to win a Nobel prize? Would you guess that the normal, somewhat lanky-looking guy standing in front had an Olympic Gold medal in his bag? While the vast majority of 20-year-old college students are desperately trying to figure out “what they want to be when they grow up”, this guy answers, “I’m an Olympic swimmer.”

So, what's life like when you are actually living out your dreams, and not still working towards them? I sat down and talked with Ricky, Scott and David, three members of the UT swimming team that represented the United States globally at the 2008 Summer Olympics, about their experience in Beijing, and what it’s like being serious athletes and normal 20-year-old guys.

Q: How long have you boys been swimming?
Ricky: I started swimming when I was four; my mom was a swimming coach.
Scott: I think I was five. Well, except I almost drowned when I was six. I strapped myself into a boogie board, belly down, and I flipped over and couldn’t unstrap myself. My mom grabbed me just in time—I was turning blue!
David: I never almost drowned, but when I was eight I couldn’t surf the big waves, because I was a really poor swimmer. So I joined the summer league to learn.

Q: How did you end up here at Texas?
Ricky: Eddie Reese was a huge influence. He has coached here at Texas for 30 years, and has created an amazing swimming legend. I also really wanted to get away from North Carolina—there’s absolutely nothing there. Austin is a much better city; there is something different to do every single day.
Scott: I had grown up here in Austin, so in order to get away and have a new experience I went to Michigan for two years. I wanted something new, something that was my own. But… It’s hard to leave Texas, there’s just something about it.
David: Along those same lines, I’d always heard that Texas was the shit. I figured it was the place for me… and no one else would take me!

Q: Can you describe your average day as a student athlete?
Ricky: We start morning practice at 5:30 for an hour an a half. Go to class and are back in the pool from 2:00 to 5:00. Relax, eat dinner, and study.

Q: Do you ever feel that such a rigorous and structured routine has caused you to miss out on other aspects of college life?
Ricky: No, not really. It’s just a different lifestyle.
David: I mean, there’s always going to be beer, but we only have four years to be with a team and achieve something real.
Ricky: Instead of having a lot of drunken nights that we won’t remember, we get gold medals that we can never forget. It’s totally worth the sacrifice.
Scott: And it’s not like we never get to go out and fun. We can’t go out as much, but it makes the times we do all the better.

Q: So do you have time for girlfriends?
David: Well, I have a problem dating girls. I’ve gone through like five or six that only lasted about a week. Except this one A&M girl; she only lasted three days. I’m not a player, I just get bored fast. Scott on the other hand is still into high school girls!
Scott: I’m not even going to respond to that.
Ricky: Unlike my friends, I’m neither slutty nor creepy. I have a girlfriend, and she’s awesome. She swims for UT too, so we have similar schedules. It works really well.

Q: What went through your minds when you found out you would be representing the USA globally?
David: Oh shit! We made the Olympic team. It happened so fast I didn’t really have time to look back on the moment. I was just looking toward what I would have to do in Beijing.
Scott: I won the 200 breast stroke at the qualifying meet in Omaha, Nebraska. Once I hit the wall, I kind of blacked out. I had to see it on camera to believe it. It was unreal.

Q: So, are you and Michael Phelps pretty tight?
Ricky: Oh yea, we are basically best friends. So, apparently Phelps and any of his teammates get free Pizza Hut for a year. So, I call Pizza Hut and explain to them that I won gold with Phelps in the 800 free relay, and they totally didn’t buy it. It was so lame.
Scott: I play a lot of poker with him online. He’s upset with me because I screwed him over in our last poker tournament. That’s the last time we talked…
Q: Besides Phelps, who was the coolest person you each met?
Ricky: The NBA guys came to our session and sat with us.
Scott: Jason Kidd! He was so awesome. He offered me tickets to all of his games.
Ricky: No he didn’t. You were begging him for them.
David: Come on, yes he did; box seats and everything.
Ricky: I still talk to some of the gymnastic girls. They were pretty fun.
David: George Bush Sr. came to our reception. I’m pretty sure I smelled a few cocktails on his breath!
Scott: I met George W. Bush, and he was really nice to talk to in person.
David: You liked talking to his daughter! He and Laura Bush were those awkward people talking in the corner.

Q: Besides hitting on the president’s daughter, what was your favorite part about the whole experience?
Scott: Free McDonald's everyday.
Ricky: Fat ass!
David: For me it was the coming home that was really cool. There were a lot of posters of me in my neighborhood, and the deputy was waiting to greet me at my door.
Ricky: David got a whole day dedicated to him with a parade. It’s an official town holiday.
David: (Laughs) Yea, it’s kind of like Martin Luther King Day.
Ricky: As for my favorite part… I don’t know. The whole experience was just amazing.
Scott: Seriously, Ricky. Douche.
Ricky: Ok, ok. Opening ceremony maybe?
Scott: I think I liked seeing myself on the level of my idols. Signing autographs for little kids who look up to me was a really satisfying experience.
David: (cracks up laughing)

I've also added photos from the Study Breaks Flickr to the Gallery.