June 10, 2021 at 8:11 a.m.
'Everybody belongs there'
Francis reflects on experience at Olympic Trials
'Everybody belongs there'
There was a bit of awe, gazing out at the pool where the Team USA roster for the Tokyo Games will be determined this coming week. There was plenty of competition, which saw Francis finish 16th overall in a field of 46 swimmers in the 100-meter backstroke. Above all else, Francis said there was plenty of perspective.
"It puts things in perspective, and that happens to me a lot when I go to these bigger meets. I just realize how big swimming is, how close it is and how fast people actually are," she said in a phone interview with the River News.
"The level of meet was something I've never gotten to experience before. It's so much different than some of the smaller club meets or even the quote-unquote bigger club meets that I've been to. It just does not compare from how the athletes are treated and the respect that everyone has for each other. Everybody belongs there and everybody respects each other, which I think is really, really cool."
The road to Omaha kicked into high gear for Francis after qualifying for the 100 backstroke during a national-level event in Florida in late March. Rested and tapered for that meet, April and May were about rebuilding the training base that would allow her to rest to swim fast again last week.
Francis, who was one of two Olympic Trial qualifiers for the Wausau-based Mid-Wisconsin Wave Makers club, got down to Omaha a couple of days before the event, giving her time to prepare for what is billed as "the best swimming competition on American soil."
After check-in and mandatory COVID-19 testing, Francis said she and the Mid-Wisconsin contingent checked out the warm-up area, which was impressive enough and exceeded most facilities where she's competed. Then a coach from another club urged them to go check out the competition pool at CHI Health Arena for the first time - a blue and aqua spectacle of American swimming.
"It was insane. I was honestly blown away when we actually walked into the pool," she said. "We walked over to where it was and you walk through to the bleachers and just the colors and all the lights up there and the actual size of it is like nothing I've ever seen before. I was just in awe. I just stood there for a few minutes, taking it all in. It's something you see pictures of, but it doesn't compare to actually seeing this in person, especially being on deck as opposed to being in the stands. Walking out there, it's crazy."
After some practice Wednesday and Thursday, Francis was in the pool Friday morning for the second of six heats in the 100 backstroke preliminaries. She needed a time of 1 minute, 2.69 seconds to qualify for Omaha and got there with a 1:02.61 during the Florida event which had her seeded 34th in the field.
Francis' time was a little slower in the prelims - a 1:03.22 - but, with time generally slower across the board, she sat back, watched the final four heats and tried to figure out where she placed. The top 18 would come back that evening for the finals -eight in the A finals, eight in the B finals plus two alternates.
"It's kind of difficult when you're looking at it to do the math and figure out where I would end up being placed," she said. "After all of the heats, we looked at it and we're like, 'Oh, I think she ended up 18th, maybe 19th.' So I'm thinking maybe I'm am alternate and I'd get to come back and hang out or whatever.
"Then they showed it up on the big screen. They showed the A final, and it was getting somewhat close to what my time was, so we're like, 'Oh, it will be kind of close to see.' Then when the B final popped up on the screen and my name's like right at the bottom, right in that 16th place, it was kind of crazy. My coaches started freaking out. It was really cool."
Francis was 16th overall, earning the final qualifying spot into the B final. She got there by 0.01 seconds over the 17th-place finisher.
"That race, it actually felt really good," she said. "I think just swimming in that pool makes you feel fast no matter what. It was a really fun race. That's what I took away from my prelims race. It was just really fun. I was a little disappointed with the time, but it wasn't far off what I went in March. I was OK with it."
Francis returned that evening and dropped 0.23 seconds off her time. While she did not improve her position, she said she swam a better race.
"I got back under that 1:03. That felt really good to be in that 1:02 area. It was, barely. I went a 1:02.99, but it still makes a difference and I felt a lot better about it," she said. "I knew in the morning I lost a lot of my arm tempo in the last 25 meters. That was one thing I focused on in the evening to just keep that tempo up, and I think I did that.
"Overall, I think the finals race went a little bit better. Not only was it faster, but I think I swam it a little smarter. I was really happy with it, honestly. It would have been nice to move up a little bit, but it was crazy (competition)."
It's only going to get crazier next week.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, USA Swimming took the unprecedented measure of splitting the Olympic Trials into two waves. Wave I, which took place last weekend, was billed as "wild card weekend." It served as one last chance for hopefuls to achieve a Wave II time standard - which in the women's 100 backstroke was a 1:01.49 - to come back this coming week in hopes of qualifying for the Olympic team.
"I would love to be there because the swimming will be crazy fast," Francis said. "Even being in Wave I, I was shocked a the times people were putting up. I know it will just be taken to a whole other level next week. It will be crazy."
The season never really stops for Francis, who admitted she let herself have one day off Monday when she returned home from Omaha. But, from there it was back into the pool. She said she may find a few more competitions to swim this summer before heading back into the high school pool this fall, where the senior-to-be is now a six-time individual WIAA state champion and helped the Rhinelander High School girls' swim team to a D2 state title last November.
"I'm definitely not done. It was a fun meet, but I'm not done. I want to drop more time," she said. "I don't feel quite satisfied with my time at the moment. I'm just going to get back to training this summer, build that base again and hopefully hit a few meets."
Francis has already committed to Division I Liberty University, where her older sister, Kiah, competed from 2017-2021. The next Olympic Trials are three years away, and Francis said she's hoping last week wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"I'll keep trying for whatever the cuts end up being. That will definitely be one of my goals," she said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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