University of Georgia Athletics
October 21, 2019 | Swimming & Diving, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
He's built like a linebacker, he can swim like a fish — he is Camden Murphy.
Georgia's school-record holder in the 100-yard butterfly — he set the mark twice during the 2018-19 season — Murphy has been excelling for the Bulldogs since he was a freshman earning All-America honors. Now a junior, he's a team leader in and out of the pool.
During a Quick Chat before a recent practice, the powerfully-built swimmer from Novi, Mich., near Detroit, talked about loving French fries, taking care of his body, the movie business and much more.
Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Murphy: Probably French fries, just the normal cut — honestly, I can get them anywhere. I don't really like steak fries or sweet potato fries, I just like normal McDonald's fries and fast-food fries.
Frierson: You have the luxury of burning a million calories a day so you can probably eat pretty much anything you want. How much do you pay attention to what you're eating and wants versus needs?
Murphy: I still kind of watch what I eat because I want to stay as lean as possible, I don't want to overeat — I still have to watch what I put in my body because it can affect how I swim and how I perform. But at the end of the day I usually day eat whatever I want.
Frierson: When you have that morning swim, that morning grind, are you thinking about any food in particular?
Murphy: Morning practice I usually think of Chick-fil-A, maybe their hash browns since I like fried food, maybe their chicken biscuits. I usually get Chick-fil-A in the mornings, at the Tate Center.
Frierson: When did swimming get serious for you, when you started the two swims a day and it went from something you did for fun to something you did in pursuit of big goals and dreams?
Murphy: I think I was around 13 or 14 when I started doubling a lot, maybe 10 or 12 when I first started doubling, and then I started doing a lot of yardage at 13 or 14. It was actually pretty hard at first, it wasn't easy, but I got used to it after a few years and then it got pretty easy.
I trained a lot back home before I got here, so the training here isn't anything too crazy for me because I'm used to swimming a lot of yardage.
Frierson: You've obviously done a lot of work shaping your body since you first got here — what has it been like putting in all that work, on top of all the work you do in the pool?
Murphy: Originally, I didn't lift when I first came in because (the coaches) thought that I was too muscular, which I understand because I also thought that. But then last year they realized that I still needed the strength, especially tapering for NCAAs you want that power and strength, so then I started lifting.
I kind of watched more of what I ate and I definitely lost fat and lost weight and then I stayed relatively the same, so then they were like, all right, this is working for you, we'll keep lifting. That's why I got a lot better my sophomore year, because I went back to lifting.
Frierson: Do you get mistaken for a football player sometimes?
Murphy: Yeah, swimming's not the first sport that people think that I do.
Frierson: Did you ever play football or any other sports?
Murphy: When I was really young I ran track, I played soccer and I think that was about it until I started competitively swimming when I was 10 or 12.
Frierson: How were you at track and soccer?
Murphy: Not good. [Laughs.] I was always just a natural swimmer so I always thought this sport was going to be the best for me.
Frierson: What is the most interesting or beautiful place that swimming has taken you?
Murphy: This past summer I went to Mare Nostrum (an international swimming series), which was in Europe, and one of the stops was in Monaco. That was really, really nice and I really liked how luxurious everything was, so that was probably the coolest place I've ever been to.
Frierson: Are you a bit amazed at where swimming has taken you?
Murphy: I am — I don't really think about awards that I've won but I do think about the people that I've met across the country, people that are international swimmers that I've met and I still now. There are a lot of things, like I don't know where I would be right now if it wasn't for swimming. I definitely wouldn't be here, so it's really cool that I am.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything you do or would like to do?
Murphy: I love movies and I really want to get into the film industry but I don't know exactly how yet. I'm minoring in film so maybe in something like producing or production, something like that.
Frierson: Do you ever many films on your phone?
Murphy: I don't make films, I wish I could but honestly I have no time to do anything else. I'm in so many clubs and swimming takes up so much of our time and obviously schoolwork. It's just really hard to do a lot of other stuff.
I will watch a lot of movies, that's about all I can do, like watch a movie in between my classes and coming to practice. It's kind of hard to manage my time but I'm trying.
Frierson: With all that you do, even without the club stuff, just swimming and school, do you ever look at a regular student, no sports and no job, and wonder what they do all day?
Murphy: I actually think about it a lot, like, if I didn't have to swim every single day, I would have so much more free time. But then I'm also, I wouldn't say I'm a workaholic but I like to keep busy — I'm just more productive when I'm busier. So I kind of like having to do a lot of stuff all the time and always constantly being busy.
I don't know if I envy them, sometimes I do when I'm like, I really don't want to do anything right now, but a lot of times I'm more like, I'm fine with how busy I am.
Frierson: When you think of home, what comes to mind?
Murphy: Probably now since I'm from Michigan. It usually snows from like November to sometimes April to May but usually November to March.
Frierson: Do you miss all that snow since you're certainly not going to see much around here, or are you glad to not have the hassle of the snow and the deep cold that you're used to?
Murphy: I think in December, during the winter months, I miss the snow because it can be rainy and cloudy here but back in Michigan the snow is kind of cool and pretty and we get snow days. Sometimes I really don't miss it because I hate the cold, so it's kind of like a love-hate situation.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
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.
