USA Swimming News

Thursday, March 4, 2021

No Stranger to Disruption, Bryce Mefford Continues to Pursue his Olympic Dream


Bryce Mefford Backstroke Start


Bryce Mefford and his Cal-Berkeley teammates are no strangers to interruption and uncertainty when it comes to training. 

A few years ago when the California wildfires impacted the Bay area, resulting in unsafe conditions and power outages, Coach Dave Durden made alternate plans so his swimmers wouldn’t miss time in the pool. 

The same occurred last year when NCAAs were canceled and the world went into quarantine due to COVID-19, shutting down the Cal pool and displacing Mefford and his teammates as they continued to train for upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming before it was postponed. 

Enter Coach Durden with yet another solution – moving Mefford and several of his Olympic-hopeful teammates to train in Olympic gold medalist and Cal Bear alum Nathan Adrian’s 4-lane, 3-foot-deep backyard pool 45 minutes from campus. 

That same drive to provide for his athletes continued to motivate Durden to create ways for them to train safely once school and collegiate competition resumed this fall. 

It certainly hasn’t been easy or ideal, but Mefford and his teammates are grateful and definitely better off because of the determination of their coach. 

“It was only for a few weeks, but at least we were able to keep training, especially since Olympic Trials were still happening at that point,” said Mefford, who, along with his teammates, defended their Pac-12 team championship this week. “Dave is our driving force. He is tireless and doesn’t let anything stop us from training and chasing our dreams.”

Durden is also one of the main reasons Mefford ranks among the best backstrokers in the country that has historically produced the best in the world. 

Considering that five short years ago, the Cal senior competed at U.S. Olympic Trials as an impressionable but fast up-and-comer and is now a member of the U.S. National Team and is considered one of the top contenders to make the 2021 Olympic team is testimony to this.

Every day in practice, Mefford trains with and competes against Olympic gold medalist and Bear alum Ryan Murphy along with other top swimmers. 

He knows those experiences – including making the most of training with these same guys in Adrian’s home pool last summer – have helped mold him into the best version of himself in and out of the pool. 

“Dave doesn’t let us let up – doesn’t let us stop – no matter what,” he said. “His passion for coaching and for the development of his athletes has helped me develop a real love for the sport.”

Competing at Pac 12 Championships (which began this past Sunday and ran through Wednesday), Mefford said he is reminded that this was his final meet in 2020 before everything shut down. 

As he looks back over the past 12 months, he said the experience of living and training through COVID-19 has given him a completely new perspective about the sport – and life itself. 

Having to wait a year to not only defend the team title at NCAAs but also compete at Olympic Trials and potentially the Olympics taught him to take nothing for granted and to make the most of every situation good and bad. 

“This whole experience has shown me that this sport – like most sports – pushes through and finds ways to happen and thrive,” he said. “Swimming is such a grueling sport, that I’ve learned more about persevering and keeping strong no matter what happens. 

“When NCAAs and then the Olympics and Trials were canceled last year, I initially had mixed feelings. I live with seven other guys from the Cal swim team, and we were very upset because we had spent the past 3-and-a-half years preparing for 2020. But we all eventually realized that this allowed us an extra year to train, get faster and prepare.”

And now that he’s seeing the finish line for his collegiate swimming career, Mefford said he will spend the next few months preparing physically and mentally for Trials. 

Almost five years ago when he competed, he was the young upstart who benefited from the opportunity to compete against the best swimmers in the country and world. 

While that experience proved invaluable to him – giving him further inspiration to want to achieve more – because of ongoing COVID concerns and protocols, many young swimmers who were looking forward to being in the same arena and sharing the same water with the best in the country now most likely won’t get that opportunity. 

“It was amazing getting the opportunity to race and be in the same place as the best people in the country as a young swimmer, and it’s a shame that many of the younger swimmers won’t get that chance this summer,” he said. 

“My 2016 Trials experiences was amazing. I still have a kickboard with my name on it from Trials, and many of my friends swam at the Rio Olympics. That experience helped set me up for where I am today.”

With that in mind, Mefford said he is excited about his upcoming opportunity at Trials and to make his first Olympic team would absolutely be a dream come true. 

“I have the privilege of training with some of the best backstrokers in the world every day, but to get the opportunity to do that at the Olympics would be more than I could have imagined as a young swimmer,” he said. “That daily pressure will help me immensely at Trials. My mindset will definitely be different this time. I’m older, more experienced and more determined than I was in 2016. 

“Whatever the format, whoever I will be competing against, I plan to enjoy my time in Omaha and swim fast. After everything that’s happened over the past year – including breaking my hand twice – I think we’re all ready and excited to swim and compete.”

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