Trials and Tribulations
The U.S. swimming legacy is one for the history books.
With a world-leading total of 578 Olympic swimming medals — longtsanding rival Australia has the second-most at 213 — and a lengthy budget of superstar athletes headlined by Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps, Team USA has long reigned as the top swimming program across the globe. But how does the program retain its elite status year after year?
The answer is the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials.
"Careers are made at this meet, but careers are also ended at this meet," said USA Swimming Director of Performance Matt Barbini.
Serving as the sole chance to qualify for the U.S. Olympic swimming team, the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials is the single-most high-energy and high-stakes meet in the country — or, as Barbini believes, the world.
In this week's episode of The Podium: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast, titled "Trials and Tribulations," hear Barbini, American swimmer Elizabeth Beisel and U.S. Olympic head coach Todd DeSorbo describe the somewhat unorthodox selection process for the United States' Olympic roster and define just what makes the U.S. Olympic swimming curriculum stand out.
"The pressure cooker that the U.S. Olympic Trials is prepares our team to be amazing at the Olympics," DeSorbo said. "If they can handle that and perform at a high level there, the Olympics [are] a piece of cake."
Hear all of that and more in the latest episode of "The Podium."
Episodes of The Podium release weekly in the lead-up to Paris, then every day once the Olympic flame is lit at the Opening Ceremony.
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