Friday, April 2, 2021
Past Year Gives Madisyn Cox Renewed Perspective about Swimming and Life
Before the world shut down and 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials-Swimming and the subsequent Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were postponed last year, Madisyn Cox was on the verge.
Yes, on the verge of making her first Olympic team as one of the heavy favorites in her events.
Yes, on the verge of fulfilling her longtime Olympic dream – one that appeared to be in jeopardy just a few short years before.
But, most importantly, on the verge of finishing her swimming career in grand fashion and moving on to the next phase of her life: a career in the medical field.
All of that was put on hold for one more year – but now, with Trials just a couple months away and the Olympic just beyond that, she knows what has been on the verge could soon evolve into reality.
“I was actually very upset when this news (of summer event postponements) was released and for completely selfish reasons,” Cox said. “I know that that was the best decision in terms of global health. However, I had made plans for 2021, and the news completely changed the course of my year.
“I had to defer medical school and find a house to live in for the year as I was initially planning on moving to Houston. Once I figured everything out, I did begin to look at this extra year as a unique opportunity that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. This includes in the pool but also in school – I decided to get start working on my MPH.”
Over the course of the past year, Cox said she has made it a point to take things one day at a time.
Every day she felt like there was new or different news (pools shutting down, greater restrictions, etc.), instead of stressing about access to pools and weight rooms, she focused on what she could get done that was within the constraints of the time and her control.
“Prior to everything shutting down, I was in probably the best training season I had ever been into that point in my career, so it was definitely challenging to give that up, she said. “Ultimately, what mattered more than my swimming was the public health.
“It’s definitely challenging not being able to compete for a year, but I have had to deal with this in the past when I was temporarily sanctioned from the sport, so it wasn’t something that was completely new to me. I was able to use some of the things I learned previously to get through this year. I do think it had an impact on my training, but I don’t think it has necessarily been a negative impact.”
As has been well-documented over the pasts few years, Cox was originally suspended for two years by FINA for testing positive for a banned substance – Trimetazidine – in 2018.
She proved the substance originated from a multivitamin she had taken for many years and had registered with anti-doping repeatedly and wasn’t taken intentionally as a performance-enhancing drug.
Her suspension was reduced to six months, and she was then able to compete at 2019 U.S. Nationals – where she won the 200-meter breaststroke and 200m IM.
Needless to say, that entire experience gave her a different perspective about swimming and life – perspectives that helped her traverse the challenges of the past year.
“It (suspension) definitely shaped me,” she said. “I’d never say I’m grateful for that hardship and it is still one of the most painful experiences of my life thus far, but I do think I learned a lot about myself from that time,” she said. “I also gained perspective and resilience that I wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
June’s U.S. Olympic Trials-Swimming will be the fourth consecutive in Omaha and Cox’s third.
Along with her swimming prowess, she has evolved into a sharp competitor with each Trials – coming very close to making the 2016 team with fourth-place finishes in both the 200- and 400m individual medley events.
And while she admits she’s excited to return to compete in Omaha – citing the pool, atmosphere and everything about Trials as reasons to excite her and great memories of past meets – Cox remains laser-focused on accomplishing what she has wanted since the last Trials.
“Through my past experiences I’ve learned how to better deal with and manage the highs and lows of the meet,” said Cox, who won gold (4x200m freestyle relay) and silver (200m I.M.) medals at the 2017 FINA World Championships.
“It’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster of a meet, but I’ve worked with (coach) Carol Capitani a lot on staying even keel emotionally despite the circumstances.”
With light at the end of the Olympic tunnel, Cox said she will spend the next few months leading up to Trials training and competing at the TYR Pro Swim Series meets in Mission Viejo and Indianapolis.
While training is heavy right now and will continue to be so for a few more weeks, she said she will start coming down as Trials grow closer.
And if she were to make the team – her first and most likely her last – along with everything she has experienced over the past couple of years, she would walk away from the sport this year with no regrets and lots of affection.
“I definitely wouldn’t think of it as redemption but rather reflection,” Cox said. “It would be a reflection of the hard work, sacrifices and obstacles I’ve had to overcome in the process but more importantly it would be a reflection of the hard work my coaches and family have done these past 20 years to get me to this point.
“I love swimming and everything it’s given me, but I do think it’s time to embark on my next journey in medicine and I don’t like to be half in, half out of anything so I will most likely retire from my swimming career following this summer.”
Yes, on the verge of making her first Olympic team as one of the heavy favorites in her events.
Yes, on the verge of fulfilling her longtime Olympic dream – one that appeared to be in jeopardy just a few short years before.
But, most importantly, on the verge of finishing her swimming career in grand fashion and moving on to the next phase of her life: a career in the medical field.
All of that was put on hold for one more year – but now, with Trials just a couple months away and the Olympic just beyond that, she knows what has been on the verge could soon evolve into reality.
“I was actually very upset when this news (of summer event postponements) was released and for completely selfish reasons,” Cox said. “I know that that was the best decision in terms of global health. However, I had made plans for 2021, and the news completely changed the course of my year.
“I had to defer medical school and find a house to live in for the year as I was initially planning on moving to Houston. Once I figured everything out, I did begin to look at this extra year as a unique opportunity that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. This includes in the pool but also in school – I decided to get start working on my MPH.”
Over the course of the past year, Cox said she has made it a point to take things one day at a time.
Every day she felt like there was new or different news (pools shutting down, greater restrictions, etc.), instead of stressing about access to pools and weight rooms, she focused on what she could get done that was within the constraints of the time and her control.
“Prior to everything shutting down, I was in probably the best training season I had ever been into that point in my career, so it was definitely challenging to give that up, she said. “Ultimately, what mattered more than my swimming was the public health.
“It’s definitely challenging not being able to compete for a year, but I have had to deal with this in the past when I was temporarily sanctioned from the sport, so it wasn’t something that was completely new to me. I was able to use some of the things I learned previously to get through this year. I do think it had an impact on my training, but I don’t think it has necessarily been a negative impact.”
As has been well-documented over the pasts few years, Cox was originally suspended for two years by FINA for testing positive for a banned substance – Trimetazidine – in 2018.
She proved the substance originated from a multivitamin she had taken for many years and had registered with anti-doping repeatedly and wasn’t taken intentionally as a performance-enhancing drug.
Her suspension was reduced to six months, and she was then able to compete at 2019 U.S. Nationals – where she won the 200-meter breaststroke and 200m IM.
Needless to say, that entire experience gave her a different perspective about swimming and life – perspectives that helped her traverse the challenges of the past year.
“It (suspension) definitely shaped me,” she said. “I’d never say I’m grateful for that hardship and it is still one of the most painful experiences of my life thus far, but I do think I learned a lot about myself from that time,” she said. “I also gained perspective and resilience that I wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
June’s U.S. Olympic Trials-Swimming will be the fourth consecutive in Omaha and Cox’s third.
Along with her swimming prowess, she has evolved into a sharp competitor with each Trials – coming very close to making the 2016 team with fourth-place finishes in both the 200- and 400m individual medley events.
And while she admits she’s excited to return to compete in Omaha – citing the pool, atmosphere and everything about Trials as reasons to excite her and great memories of past meets – Cox remains laser-focused on accomplishing what she has wanted since the last Trials.
“Through my past experiences I’ve learned how to better deal with and manage the highs and lows of the meet,” said Cox, who won gold (4x200m freestyle relay) and silver (200m I.M.) medals at the 2017 FINA World Championships.
“It’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster of a meet, but I’ve worked with (coach) Carol Capitani a lot on staying even keel emotionally despite the circumstances.”
With light at the end of the Olympic tunnel, Cox said she will spend the next few months leading up to Trials training and competing at the TYR Pro Swim Series meets in Mission Viejo and Indianapolis.
While training is heavy right now and will continue to be so for a few more weeks, she said she will start coming down as Trials grow closer.
And if she were to make the team – her first and most likely her last – along with everything she has experienced over the past couple of years, she would walk away from the sport this year with no regrets and lots of affection.
“I definitely wouldn’t think of it as redemption but rather reflection,” Cox said. “It would be a reflection of the hard work, sacrifices and obstacles I’ve had to overcome in the process but more importantly it would be a reflection of the hard work my coaches and family have done these past 20 years to get me to this point.
“I love swimming and everything it’s given me, but I do think it’s time to embark on my next journey in medicine and I don’t like to be half in, half out of anything so I will most likely retire from my swimming career following this summer.”