U.S. Olympian Elizabeth Beisel is no stranger to the spotlight. She’ll be looking to qualify for her 3rd Olympic team this summer after winning a silver in the 400 IM and a bronze in the 200 back at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Beisel, who trains with the Florida Gators, took the time to sit down and talk to us about her thoughts about trials, as well as some insight into her daily training.
A single day for Beisel can include up to 6-7 hours of training: including 2 hours of swimming in the morning, weights, 2 hours of swimming in the afternoon, and an hour of dryland. With all that hard work, she’s begun to focus more on recovery. Now in her 2nd year as a pro swimmer, Beisel has recently been endorsed by Milk Life. She prioritizes her recovery with all the intense training she does, and the protein she gets from milk helps her with that.
“Nutrition is one of the things I’ve learned to incorporate into recovery,” said Beisel. “I’m refueling myself and making sure I take care of my body, and milk has 8 grams of protein for every 8 ounces I drink. I have it in my smoothie every morning.”
One of the things Beisel likes most about Milk Life is that milk has 9 essential nutrients and it’s easy to incorporate into every meal.
“When I was a scrawny little kid, my mom always told me to drink my milk cause it would make me strong. I’d really like to encourage younger swimmers to be aware of what they’re putting in their body as well. What’s so great about milk is that it’s not hard to find and everyone can take advantage of it.”
We all know how grueling a swimmer’s training schedule can be, but Beisel has been inspired to keep swimming even when it gets tough. She’s been competing since she was 5, and still finds joy in the sport now at the age of 23.
“When I was a little girl and was watching the Olympic on TV, I remember how badly I wanted to be on tat TV and be an Olympian and win an Olympic medal. That’s what I remind myself of during hard practices, to do it for little Elizabeth and inspire other little 7 or 8 years old. Sometimes it’s hard but its taught me so many lessons.”
At trials, Beisel is entered in 9 events, but definitely won’t swim all of them. She will swim the 400 IM and 200 back for sure, and we could see her in 3 or 4 other events as well, likely including the 400 free, 200 free, or 200 IM.
On thing is for sure though, she’ll be having fun with it. When it comes down to it, Beisel is as intense and competitive as anyone she might compete against, but she does her best when she’s smiling and having a good time.
“Schmitty and I would always sing the song “Cheers” by Rihanna before every race and I think that’s why we swam so well, because we were genuinely having fun. It was us not making the Olympics the Olympics, and taking away the pressure. We were just having fun with it.”
Yes ! Cows!