When he thinks back on his 2016 Olympic Trials experience, Eric Knowles remembers feelings of excitement mixed with a strong touch of anxiety.

It being his first Trials – and having just made his time cuts the previous month – the future North Carolina State All-American gave it his best and left with a sense of satisfaction despite adding time to his lone event.

“I remember walking on the deck and swimming in the competition pool in Omaha,” said Knowles, who qualified in the 400 freestyle and 400 individual medley events. “It was so surreal, and I will never forget the sights, sounds and smell of that pool.

“The competition was unlike any other I had participated in, and I was extremely nervous. The results showed as I added quite a bit of time in my event (both events I had qualified in were on the same day so I picked the 400 free). It was one of those meets where I didn’t even feel bad about swimming slowly, because I was just excited to be there and watch everyone else swim.”

While he swam slower than he wanted to, Knowles said that ever since then his mentality has been to get used to those types of meets for Trials four years later.

And he has.

He’s made steady improvement every season since, qualifying for the Junior World Championships Team in 2017 and finishing as a three-time finalist at 2019 Phillips 66 USA Swimming National Championships.

While this was happening, he also excelled for the Wolfpack swim team.

As freshman, he qualified for NCAA Championships in three events (500 free, 400 IM and 1650 free), and the following season, he garnered All-American status with a top 16 finish in the 1650 free.

He was poised to do even more his junior year, and then COVID-19 roared and his and every other collegiate swimmer’s season was abruptly cut short – and what he calls “the strangest year since he started the sport” was just beginning.

“The two-month break I had was the longest I’ve ever been out of the pool, so I was extremely nervous about getting back into shape this year,” he said. “Thankfully, I kept a very rigid workout routine during that break which included a lot of running and dryland workouts. It was fun to seriously run for the first time and measure my improvement over the break. It was nice to take a step back and focus on some things that needed improvement, particularly my legs. 

“Getting back in the water for the first time in May felt so good, and I realized how much I still love swimming. I would say my motivation hasn’t changed too much since the break started. I had a very disappointing conference meet, and since then I have been extremely motivated all year long.”

Outside the pool, Knowles said he enjoyed extended time at home with his family. He found it “very relaxing being at home” and seeing his parents and a few of his siblings in July.

“Since my four siblings are significantly older than me and spread out all over the country, it’s a real treat when I get to see them,” he said.

It was actually because of his older siblings that Knowles found his way into the water.

He started swimming at age 6 for his summer league team when he followed his brothers and sisters who also swam.

Even though swimming was his one athletic constant, Knowles also played soccer until the sixth grade.

After that, however, swimming required increasing amounts of time and commitment, so he stopped playing soccer to focus on swimming.

“I enjoyed soccer a lot, but I definitely felt more at home in the pool,” he said. “It was easier for me to improve in the pool, and being very competitive, I wanted to be in the sport where I could succeed the most.”

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Knowles said he was able to resume pool training this summer, and despite having very few official meets, the break allowed him to focus on training and improving in practices.

So far this fall, N.C. State has only had two official meets, but he said he’s getting a lot of great competition from his teammates during practice and intrasquad meets.

Still, he knows he will need to be much better in Omaha that he was at Nationals in 2019 to have a shot at making the team.

“After warming down from my 400 at Nationals I actually came to my coaches and gave them my goal splits that I want to be able to swim at Trials, so I have a good goal in my head of what I need to do,” he said. “The biggest area I can improve in is my kick as well as my top-end speed.

“Training-wise, I would say that right now I am in the best shape of my life, so I think not having meets hasn’t hurt me at all. Currently, we are able to train well, and anticipate going to conference in February and NCAAs in March if all holds well.”

As for Trials and the Olympics being delayed until 2021, Knowles said he believes another year to train gives him an advantage he wouldn’t otherwise have had.

“Since I am still young and have a lot of room to improve. I’m definitely very excited about Trials and the opportunity I have to race with all the best athletes in the United States,” said Knowles, who is majoring in Materials Science and Engineering at N.C. State and plans to pursue his PhD in Materials Science.

“I think making the Olympic team has always been an awesome idea to aim for, but prior to last year I didn’t actually expect to be a threat at Trials. Making the team is one of those things where it’s now actually possible, but I don’t want to hang up all my hopes and dreams on it. I just want to focus on being the best swimmer I can be and maximizing any potential I have.”