Conor Dwyer, three-time defending arena Pro Swim Series men’s champion will be competing this weekend in Mesa for the first time since he won two medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He is coming into the weekend with a good attitude and one main goal: just have fun.

“I took a nice break after the Olympics,” Dwyer said. “I’m excited yet nervous to see where I’m at. It’ll be good to get back to the swing of things with racing and training.”

After a few months of training again, he’s ready to dive back in amongst the best of them.

I think [the arena Pro Swim Series] is fun because some of the best swimmers in the world are there,” said Dwyer. “The top regional swimmers will bring their teams there to compete. And it’s always fun to see how the training’s paid off.”

That is Dwyer’s favorite takeaway from racing the Pro Swim Series.

“Consistency and hard work can pay off,” said Dwyer. “If you can show you can be constant year round, it helps you can be competitive at Worlds and [other important races]. I never thought swimming would be a way for me to earn that much money, or a sweet ride. So it cool to see that, and to have the training pay off.”

And pay off it has – the prize for winning the overall series includes the lease of a BMW vehicle and an overall series bonus cash prize.

“I remember at Santa Clara two years ago, [the overall title] came down to a 200 IM between Michael [Phelps], myself and Chase [Kalisz],” said Dwyer. “We all train together. Those two almost cost me a BMW and (cash). They say they gave it to me, but I know better.”

Dwyer will be back in the pool this weekend, competing in the 100-meter freestyle, 200m frees and the 200m individual medley.