Cal senior Caitlin Leverenz, after finishing in third place in the women’s 400 IM final, confirmed rumors that she’s sick, but wouldn’t use it as an excuse. Leverenz said on Friday that ““It’s only me. Somehow, I don’t think anyone else on the team is sick. I have a cold. I [caught the cold] before the meet started. It’s not unusual to race with a cold. I just have a really horrible voice.”
She also broke down her 400 IM for the media, saying that her race was a “little different race than the one [she] swam at Pac-12’s,” specifically noting that her fly and her back weren’t as strong in the final.
She also addressed a hot topic of conversation: her streamlines that are very non-traditional with her hands spread.
“I think there are a lot of concepts [Coach] Teri [McKeeve] is willing to have us do,” Leverenz said. “They are more non-traditional at Cal. We have never talked about the streamline, as in the correct position. It’s just something I have picked up on that makes me feel good. It’s really as simple as that. We have watched the videos [on the half streamline approach] and we really like the theories behind it. It’s great imitating [the approach].”
Meanwhile, Georgia’s Allison Schmitt, champion in the 200 freestyle, was all about “team” in her post-race comments, living up to her reputation as one of the best teammates in the sport at either the college or international level.
When asked about what the expectation was for Saturday, as the Bulldogs go into the meet’s final day with a 15-point lead, she said that “We definitely have to stand up in the 100m [relays]. Megan [Romano] had a great 50, a great 200, I’m excited to see what she does [tomorrow]. I know she is going to have a great swim and I just want to be right there with her [tomorrow].”
And finally, Texas A&M 100 breaststroke champion referenced what she felt was like a poor push on her third turn. “It feels good. I was a little bummed on my third turn – I pushed off my toes. I felt like I could have gotten more umph out of it. I’m happy I got the points for my team, and I’ll try to go faster next year.”
As we talked about pre-meet, Larson’s turns are the key to her breaststroke races. For someone who is so good underwater as she is, getting that “umph” as she described it off the wall can be a huge deal for her.
She admitted that she wanted to go under 57 seconds. “I really wanted that 56. I’m not sure how long it would take me to get there but I definitely wanted [the record].”
Despite some small disappointment on not going a best time, she put the swim in perspective of what has been a slow meet, in relative historical terms. “It’s been really cold. This has not been a really fast meet. You have to push through because everyone is being effected the same way. Mind over matter.”
No individual interview video for Alliaon Schmitt? I’d love to see one if there’s any footage floating around!