Francis soaked in the experience at Olympic Trials

From turning in one of the best swims of her career to bumping into a soon-to-be world record holder, Rhinelander native Malia Francis took it all in last week as she competed in the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Indianapolis.

Francis, competing in her second Olympic Trials, finished 38th in the 200-meter backstroke, but said it was just the tip of the iceberg of her experience at the nation’s biggest swim meet. 

“Getting to see some of the fastest swimming in the world, that’s an experience you can’t really match. The was super cool and really inspiring, I think, just to get to witness that,” she told the River News in a phone interview Monday. “Being able to see former Olympians and younger kids trying to make that team, just seeing that highest level of swimming was just so cool.”

Francis competed last Thursday in the 200 backstroke. She earned a spot in Indianapolis after meeting a pre-determined time standard in the event during a last chance meet earlier this month in Lynchburg, Va., where she swims collegiately for Liberty University. 

Going into the meet, Francis stated her goal was to once again beat the Olympic Trials qualifying standard in the event of 2 minutes, 13.59 seconds. She did not quite get there, swimming 2:14.07 in her heat race, but said she was more than pleased with her performance.

“Of course, it’s always nice to be right on that time or get a best time, but it was my second-fastest time ever. I can’t really complain about that,” she said. “I think the biggest thing, for me, is I always swim better at night. There’s that kind of challenge of trying to race in the morning, which everyone has to do. For this, I knew it was most likely the one shot in the morning. It’s just kind of figuring out how to get your body to get up and get moving in the morning.

“For a prelim swim, I’m pretty thrilled with it. It felt great. I truly going into it just wanted to have fun. It was such a cool experience and it was nothing that I was necessarily overly nervous for, which is good. I feel like I was just able to swim it confidently and have fun with it.”

It also culminated a three-year journey back to the trials that was filled with ups and downs. She made it there in 2021 prior to her senior year at Rhinelander High School, qualifying in the 100 backstroke. She went on to win her seventh and eighth individual state titles that November at the WIAA Division 2 state meet, breaking the D2 state record in the 100-yard backstroke in the process. The following spring, she had surgery on her knee, and took a medical redshirt the following fall at Liberty. Ever since, Francis said the goal has been to recapture and exceed the form she had prior to surgery. 

“I just feel like this whole experience was such a blessing, with just everything that I’ve gone through physically and mentally over the last few years,” she said. “It really just showed me that you can bounce back from those setbacks. It just encouraged me to not give up and continue working hard. It can all come back if you just stay consistent and don’t give up on yourself.”

Francis said she got to Indianapolis prior to the start of the nine-day meet June 15, in part to get acclimated to the facility and in part to support a college teammate who was also participating in the trials. She got to compete in the same pool that hosted the finals in several events, which were broadcast live on national primetime television. 

USA Swimming has taken venues used for other sports and transformed them into natatoriums before — as it did in 2021 when they pool inside the CHI Health Arena in Omaha, Neb. Francis said that paled in comparison to the scene this time around. Fitting for the city that hosts the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indianapolis 500, Lucas Oil Stadium — the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts — was transformed into the greatest spectacle in swimming.

“Seeing pictures leading up and hearing, since I knew they were going to be hosting it at Lucas Oil Stadium, it sounds cool and you see the pictures and the whole thought of it, but it truly doesn’t compare to seeing it in person,” she said. “The place is just so much bigger than I could think of for a pool.”

Then there was the star power at the Trials, something Francis was unable to fully experience in 2021 with the event split into two separate waves due to protocols surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. This time around swam in the same event, albeit in a different heat, as Regan Smith, who broke the world record in the 100 backstroke two days earlier.

Francis also recalled bumping into Gretchen Walsh, who asked Francis to assist her in getting her arms through the straps of the skin-tight tech suits swimmers wear to make themselves more streamlined in the water. That took place prior to one of the heats of the 100 butterfly — an event where Walsh would eventually break the world record on her way to securing a spot on Team USA.

“That was really cool,” Francis said. “You couldn’t walk around any corner without seeing someone pretty cool.”

After her time in Indy, Francis has returned home to Rhinelander, where she said she plans to spend time some well-earned time off with family before beginning to train for her redshirt sophomore season at Liberty. She’ll come into next year with some momentum after strong runner-up finish in the 200-yard backstroke last year at the Atlantic Sun Conference championship. She’ll also be getting ready to welcome another member of the her family, younger sister Karis, to the Liberty University fold in the fall. 

“I’m just excited for another year. I think we have a great class coming in, my sister being one of them. That’s very exciting,” she said.

Francis is on pace to finish her collegiate swimming career prior to the next U.S. Olympic Trials in 2028. She’ll be 24 by then but, with Los Angeles set to host the 2028 Games, she said she has not ruled out taking one more shot at qualifying for the trials.

“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t kind of an itch there to try to get back,” she said. “It will definitely take some thinking once they release the cuts for 2028 to see where I’ll have to be, see how I’m doing physically and see if that’s worth another shot. It is definitely tempting now, especially coming off that high.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].