Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Mintenko now works at USA Swimming headquarters as the National Team Managing Director, assisting National Team Head Coach and General Manager Mark Schubert. She talks about her marriage to Canadian swimmer Mike Mintenko, how she has been able to transition into her new career, and her thoughts on the 2008 Olympic team in this week’s 20 Question Tuesday with special correspondent Bob Schaller.
1 Tell us about your new job. What’s it like, where are you, etc.?
Lindsay: It’s very busy. I live in Colorado Springs. My husband and I are building a house, which is stressful in itself. I’m doing everyday things to get the (Nationals) teams going to these meets. It’s different being on the other side of the fence. I knew this stuff went on, but I didn’t realize the amount of details it takes.
2 You have just started coaching full-time at USC before this came up. What was it like for you at USC?
Lindsay: ‘SC was everything for me. I loved going to school there. I was there for a total of 10 years. It’s important for me to keep my ties to the Trojans. I still stay in touch with the swimmers.
3 How hard was it to leave USC for the USA Swimming post?
Lindsay: It was very hard, especially to leave the swimmers, but I was ready to move on with my life. It was a hard job to do, being newly married – working 12- and 13-hour days. I didn’t think I’d end up here in Colorado Springs, but the day I turned in my resignation for me at USC was very hard for me.
4 Did you give any thought to applying for the head coaching job at USC? Is that something you see yourself returning to in the future at some point – at USC or elsewhere?
Lindsay: I don’t know. I don’t think I was ready to be a head coach at a university like USC. It might be something in the future, but I really like what I am doing now.
5 What do you do to stay in shape now?
Lindsay: I still do a lot of cardio. I have a really bad hip. I wanted to try to run a marathon, but my hip didn’t let me do that.
6 You had a couple of comebacks. What were the circumstances under which you hung it up for good?
Lindsay: I guess I never really hung it up once, so I really didn’t have any comebacks. I had a couple of injuries that kind of stopped me. I knew when the Short Course World Championships were going to be swum in Indiana, I had two years to prepare, and I knew that would be my last meet. It was the perfect time for me to end it. I’ve always been told there is life after swimming. Swimming never defined who I was. So I was prepared to move on, and I still work in swimming, so I never really gave it up.
7 Who is a male swimmer you have your eye on for 2008?
Lindsay: I keep an eye on Ryan Lochte, for sure. But there are so many I am looking at – so many people who could make a big impact. I’m excited for new people to make an impact. It’s a changing of the guard, because quite a few retired after 2004. I’m real excited that Gary Hall is still swimming.
8 Same question, but for a female swimmer?
Lindsay: We have so many strong American swimmers right now, this summer’s going to tell us a lot.
9 Where does the U.S. men’s team need to improve to have a dominating performance in the Olympics?
Lindsay: Our eyes are on the relays. We’re really looking at concentrating on the relays. We’re very strong in all the events, though.
10 Same question, but for the women’s team?
Lindsay: With the Australian women being so dominant, our women are really going to have to step up. Again we’re really concentrating on the relays.
11 You’ve been around the world so many times. What are your expectations and hopes for the venue in China?
Lindsay: I think China will do a great job. They are a culture that doesn’t like to fail. They will do great.
12 What is another country, or a couple of countries, that you feel will make a big name for themselves in swimming at the Beijing Games?
Lindsay: We need to keep the European countries in mind. South Africa, France and Germany will all be good, and you can’t count China out because they’re hosting the Olympics, and they’ll be ready to go fast. And Australia, obviously, is incredible.
13 How do you transition from being an all-World athlete into a coach? What are one or two keys?
Lindsay: I don’t know if I’d call myself a coach, yet. Swimming has given me so many avenues to learn from. Transitioning is easy because I can give back to a sport that has given me so much. I’m so ready to give back.
14 What is something, or a couple of things, you have learned as part of the U.S. Swimming staff now that you didn’t know as an athlete, or perhaps surprised you a bit?
Lindsay: One of the things is that everybody here loves the sport of swimming and wants to make sure everyone is taken care of and that everything runs smoothly. They want the athletes to perform well, and they care so much and work very hard to make sure that that happens and there are no glitches, that every athlete is taken care of to the fullest extent.
15 What does Mark Schubert taking over as National Team coach, and bringing you on as his top assistant, do for the program in your eyes?
Lindsay: I think for some of us, there’s no one who could do this job better than Mark. A lot of people are very excited to have him on board. He’ll make a big difference. This is the way the other top countries in the world do it, having a National Team coach like this. Having me here gives him a different perspective from the athletes’ side.
16 What do you miss about competing? Will we see you in master’s competitions?
Lindsay: Not yet. I don’t have any desire to swim right now. Like I said, I did it for 21 years. I might swim in the future. It is a great way to stay in shape. And for me, that was a scary feeling – that I’d get out of shape when I stopped swimming. But I had to step away from it for a while. I do like to get back in and swim for a while.
17 Some of your Olympic teammates are having kids now. Is that something you see happening in your life sooner or later?
Lindsay: I hope so. I think it’s great so many people are having kids and moving on. It just shows there are other things to life. A lot of people need to know that.
18 Our next Olympic team has the potential to span two decades easily – it seems like, more than ever, but certainly starting back when you swam, we could have someone like Amanda Beard be teammates with, say, a 13 or 14 year old, so the question is, what does it say about women’s swimming in the U.S., and how amazing is it to see someone else do what Dara Torres and Jill Sterkel did, possibly make four teams?
Lindsay: When I was 18 that was almost unthinkable. The reason we’re able to do the things we can do now and swim for more than one Olympics is professional swimming and great sponsors who support our athletes. That’s so important to be able to produce the best teams every time we go to the Olympics.
19 What’s something you do to unwind now that you are ensconced in Colorado Springs?
Lindsay: I haven’t had time. We’re building a house, as I said, and we’ll decorate, paint and landscape that. When I first started making money, I was excited to buy shoes and clothes, but now, with a house, I need a fridge and a floor. We go to movies a lot – more than we ever did in California.
20 What’s a common interest you share with your husband, and what’s married life been like, perhaps in regard to what you expected?
Lindsay: Obviously the common interest we shared was swimming. We were able to keep our relationship strong through a long-distance relationship for three years and part of that was because of swimming. I love being married. Every minute of it is wonderful. I’m very independent, obviously, so I get annoyed, (laughs) but that’s just from living with someone all the time. Mike is wonderful, and we’re so excited to be starting our life here.