Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Gabby DeLoof is Ready to Race Friendly Competition at Trials
When 2020 Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games were postponed this past spring, Gabby DeLoof saw opportunity rather and disappointment.
She saw opportunity to continue to train and improve for a delayed Games – improving her opportunities to make the team.
She saw opportunity to relax and repair her body during the March/April/May shutdown rather than lament about missing time in the water.
She saw opportunity to reconnect with family and friends – spending time with her parents and sisters in a manner that she hasn’t enjoyed for many years because of distance and training.
In a nutshell, DeLoof, a strong contender next summer to make her first Olympic team, chose to see her glass half full rather than half empty.
“I have kept my head up and been grateful for all the opportunities that were given to me, and still are, to continue doing what I love during COVID-19,” she said. “I continue to move forward and have a positive attitude and mindset toward everything. Swimming has blessed me with many things but I feel I have become more grateful and have a better understanding and realization of everything.
“My motivation has definitely increased but there were still some hard times and thoughts of ‘what am I training for right now since the Olympics are postponed.’ I was able to take some time away from the pool and enjoy moments, but also had a mentality of its time to get back to work when I got back to the pool.”
Leading up to 2020, DeLoof was definitely hitting her swimming stride.
She had made the 2019 World Championship team – leaving South Korea with a silver medal as a member of the 800 freestyle relay team – along with a dominating performance at World University Games.
In Naples, Italy, she won five gold medals – two individual (100 and 200 free) and three relays – and was on a roll.
For DeLoof, it’s all been a calculated process to elevate her swim game since 2016 Olympic Trials and put herself in the best possible position for 2020 (now 2021).
“I have grown a lot as my swimming career has progressed,” said DeLoof, who also made the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships team. “I was a late bloomer for the sport of swimming, but that made it all the more special to me. I didn't take the normal path that everyone else took to get to swim in college and after that.
“I have loved every moment of training and racing throughout my college career, and I know that swimming is just one aspect of my life.”
When COVID-19 hit this spring, DeLoof said the experience gave her a completely new perspective about swimming’s role in her life.
She said she felt like the pandemic – and everything associated with it – almost took everything she had worked hard for away.
She started to understand things better with her swimming career but also with her life.
“I am turning 25 in March, so I was truly able to start thinking about my life after swimming and how I want to leave this sport,” she said. “I am grateful every day I get the chance to jump into a pool and train, and blessed that this is my job right now.
And while many athletes around the world mourned the postponement of the Olympics for another year, DeLoof saw it as a chance to get stronger and take more time to change things.
“I saw it as an opportunity to have a hard and thoughtful conversation with myself and at the time, Coach David Marsh,” she said. “During these months, David told us to assess our lives and swimming careers and ask the tough questions of what we really wanted to do and if we wanted to be somewhere else.
“We both put our heads together and decided it was a great opportunity to come back to Michigan and train with my college coach, Rick Bishop. This was truly a blessing in disguise because this is where I need to be.”
With Olympic Trials in Omaha now just over six months away, DeLoof said she plans to train hard and heavy, take in a few competitions as COVID-19 and her schedule allows and make sure she’s in the best possible position to contend for her first Olympic Team.
And even though she is friends with all of her freestyle competitors and has made some “amazing friendships” through the sport, she said she is preparing for a serious dogfight for the few spots available on the team headed to Tokyo.
“My training with Rick never stops,” said DeLoof, who is excited to be at Trials next summer with sisters Ali and Catie. “It is truly a grind, but I love that. I love to race, but I don't like to race that often during training. I know that I put a lot of hard work in during the year and I don't normally see that pay off until taper comes around. I am so good with that, so I don't think it affected me too much.
“I go into each day of training with 110 percent attitude to get it done, because honestly it could be taken away at any given moment. I feel I am training very well and continuing to improve each and every day.”
She saw opportunity to continue to train and improve for a delayed Games – improving her opportunities to make the team.
She saw opportunity to relax and repair her body during the March/April/May shutdown rather than lament about missing time in the water.
She saw opportunity to reconnect with family and friends – spending time with her parents and sisters in a manner that she hasn’t enjoyed for many years because of distance and training.
In a nutshell, DeLoof, a strong contender next summer to make her first Olympic team, chose to see her glass half full rather than half empty.
“I have kept my head up and been grateful for all the opportunities that were given to me, and still are, to continue doing what I love during COVID-19,” she said. “I continue to move forward and have a positive attitude and mindset toward everything. Swimming has blessed me with many things but I feel I have become more grateful and have a better understanding and realization of everything.
“My motivation has definitely increased but there were still some hard times and thoughts of ‘what am I training for right now since the Olympics are postponed.’ I was able to take some time away from the pool and enjoy moments, but also had a mentality of its time to get back to work when I got back to the pool.”
Leading up to 2020, DeLoof was definitely hitting her swimming stride.
She had made the 2019 World Championship team – leaving South Korea with a silver medal as a member of the 800 freestyle relay team – along with a dominating performance at World University Games.
In Naples, Italy, she won five gold medals – two individual (100 and 200 free) and three relays – and was on a roll.
For DeLoof, it’s all been a calculated process to elevate her swim game since 2016 Olympic Trials and put herself in the best possible position for 2020 (now 2021).
“I have grown a lot as my swimming career has progressed,” said DeLoof, who also made the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships team. “I was a late bloomer for the sport of swimming, but that made it all the more special to me. I didn't take the normal path that everyone else took to get to swim in college and after that.
“I have loved every moment of training and racing throughout my college career, and I know that swimming is just one aspect of my life.”
When COVID-19 hit this spring, DeLoof said the experience gave her a completely new perspective about swimming’s role in her life.
She said she felt like the pandemic – and everything associated with it – almost took everything she had worked hard for away.
She started to understand things better with her swimming career but also with her life.
“I am turning 25 in March, so I was truly able to start thinking about my life after swimming and how I want to leave this sport,” she said. “I am grateful every day I get the chance to jump into a pool and train, and blessed that this is my job right now.
And while many athletes around the world mourned the postponement of the Olympics for another year, DeLoof saw it as a chance to get stronger and take more time to change things.
“I saw it as an opportunity to have a hard and thoughtful conversation with myself and at the time, Coach David Marsh,” she said. “During these months, David told us to assess our lives and swimming careers and ask the tough questions of what we really wanted to do and if we wanted to be somewhere else.
“We both put our heads together and decided it was a great opportunity to come back to Michigan and train with my college coach, Rick Bishop. This was truly a blessing in disguise because this is where I need to be.”
With Olympic Trials in Omaha now just over six months away, DeLoof said she plans to train hard and heavy, take in a few competitions as COVID-19 and her schedule allows and make sure she’s in the best possible position to contend for her first Olympic Team.
And even though she is friends with all of her freestyle competitors and has made some “amazing friendships” through the sport, she said she is preparing for a serious dogfight for the few spots available on the team headed to Tokyo.
“My training with Rick never stops,” said DeLoof, who is excited to be at Trials next summer with sisters Ali and Catie. “It is truly a grind, but I love that. I love to race, but I don't like to race that often during training. I know that I put a lot of hard work in during the year and I don't normally see that pay off until taper comes around. I am so good with that, so I don't think it affected me too much.
“I go into each day of training with 110 percent attitude to get it done, because honestly it could be taken away at any given moment. I feel I am training very well and continuing to improve each and every day.”