University of Georgia Athletics
Rio Experiences Inspiring Dogs
November 07, 2016 | Swimming & Diving
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Just about everywhere you look inside Gabrielsen Natatorium during the Georgia's swim meets this season, there are Olympians around. If you're moved by the presence of greatness, it is a powerful and inspiring sight, on many levels.
The Georgia teams were hosting rival Florida in a Friday morning meet on Oct. 28, and despite a few hundred fans watching two top-notch swimming and diving programs go at it, there wasn't a lot of buzz in the room. Despite the major early-season meet and the level of talent in the water, it was a long way from Rio de Janeiro in August.
It was more of the same over the weekend as Georgia's teams followed their convincing wins over the Gators with comfortable wins over Wisconsin. And in between the two were wins for both squads at Georgia Tech last Wednesday.
Georgia coach Jack Bauerle knows very well that getting back to normal life and normal competition following an Olympic appearance is no easy thing.
"Something people on the outside have to remember is all their dreams just came to fruition, and all of a sudden you have to recalibrate and figure out what you want to do in your college season," said Bauerle, who served as an assistant coach on the U.S. men's swim team during the Summer Olympics. "It's a rough time to be swimming and it's a rough time to be coaching, really. You come off the highest of highs, but there are challenges that come with it that aren't there normally."
Like getting up for collegiate meets, with the SEC and NCAA championships a long ways off, in a mostly quiet natatorium. So far, it doesn't look like the Bulldogs' six returning Olympians are suffering through any post-Games hangovers, which was, "without question," Bauerle said, a real concern.
Take the Florida meet. It's Georgia-Florida, it's two traditionally strong programs, it's a good early season test for all the swimmers.
In the first race of the day, the women's 200-yard medley relay, half of Georgia's winning quartet — American Olivia Smoliga and Canadian Chantal Van Landeghem — raced in Rio. In the meet's second race, the men's 200 medley relay, Georgia's winning foursome again featured two Olympians: American Chase Kalisz and Canadian Javier Acevedo.
That group bested a second-place Florida squad that featured Olympian Caeleb Dressell, and in third place was another Georgia quartet that featured two Olympians in Jay Litherland and Gunnar Bentz. This was elite-level stuff here.
Litherland, who placed fifth in the 400-meter individual medley in Rio, said he has tried not to let being an Olympian go to his head. But it's there and he's trying to use it the best way he can going forward.
"I don't necessarily want to put it in my head but it's definitely something that's always up there," he said. "There's some pressure to it in a way, but you have to kind of change that to 'I want to win and show them that I can swim in events other than the 400 IM, too.'"
Like he did in the 200-yard freestyle in the Florida meet, touching the wall first and besting teammate and fellow Olympian Gunnar Bentz.
Bauerle was quite pleased with that race, with the way the two Olympians raced each other. Even more though, and this is perhaps the greatest benefit to having a lot of returning Olympians on a squad, it's how the presence of Olympians in the pool affects those around them.
In that 200 free, it was Georgia freshman Walker Higgins touching the wall for third place, right behind Bentz.
"If you're pretty good there, you're pretty good," Bauerle said. "I tell Walker and all the kids, you're judged by the company you keep. That's who I want him going after."
In the very next race, the 100 backstroke, Olympic gold medalist Olivia Smoliga cruised to victory with a time of 54.22 seconds. Bulldog freshman Meryn McCann was second in 54.95. The next race, the men's 100 back, featured another Georgia Olympian, Canadian Javier Acevedo, a freshman, who won in 47.35
A few minutes later, in race No. 10, the men's 100 breaststroke, yet another Bulldog Olympian, Chase Kalisz, destroyed the field. The senior finished in 53.86, nearly two fill seconds ahead of Florida's Stanley Wu's 55.75.
On Friday against Wisconsin, Kalisz won the 100 breaststroke and followed that with the fastest time of the year in the 400 IM.
Want more? Race No. 13 against Florida, Georgia's Chantal Van Landeghmen, who swam for Canada in Rio, scorched the field in the 50 free, winning with a time of 22.67, more than half a second ahead of second place in swimming's fastest event.
Or what about Van Landeghmen a little while later, in the 17th race of the day, the 100 free? The senior, who took last year off from competing for Georgia to train for the Games, won the 100 by more than a second, in 49.56, beating teammate Veronica Burchill (50.77) and fellow Olympian Smoliga (50.96).
Smoliga doesn't like losing, but she's thrilled to have Landeghmen back on the team and in the pool.
"Chantal and I race and, honestly, it's the best to have her back, because I missed my training buddy and I missed my friend, so this season should be a lot of fun," Smoliga said.
Smoliga, who placed in the 100 backstroke, earned her gold medal by being part of the U.S. team's 4x100 medley relay team, competing in a preliminary heat. The medal is here, and not back home in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, Ill., but it's "tucked away" and not something on prominent display.
Asked if she ever just puts in on and walks around in front of her roommates, without saying a word about it, the senior laughs while also looking mortified by the thought.
"I can't! I get very, I don't know what the right word is, embarrassed isn't it, but ... I don't like wearing it around (laughing)," she said. "I like tucking it away because it's, like, too flashy for me."
Now an individual gold medal, or one earned while swimming in the finals of a relay event, Smoliga said she'd feel differently about one of those.
"Yes, it'll definitely change it. It's one thing to get it from a prelim relay and another thing to get it in a finals relay, and individual is the goal for the next four years and a finals relay is the goal for the next four years," she said. "We'll see."
And that might just be the most powerful, most important aspect of having returning Olympians on your team — at least these Bulldog Olympians. They achieved one of the biggest goals any athlete could aspire to reach, making an Olympics, but they're not satisfied.
No, they're just getting started. And they're going to bring a lot of their teammates with them.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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