Drew Kibler knew he had a real shot of making this year’s U.S. Olympic Swimming Team. Everything was coming together beautifully for him and his recent successes in the pool gave him the courage to embrace what can often be a challenging U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming experience.

“If I said I felt I was a lock to make the team, I wouldn’t fully respect the competition,” says Kibler. “But I had a certain level of confidence to get behind the block and feel the pressure. I made plans for the future as though I would make the team.”

With his stars aligning and everything in his favor—physically, mentally and emotionally—Kibler was ready to jump in Omaha’s pressure cooker.

Until he wasn’t. 

Right before Trials, he caught a nasty virus with a bad fever, leaving him bedridden and unable to train.

“I tried to swim but could only kick 600 yards. I was hurting so bad,” says Kibler. 

Recovering enough to fly to Omaha, Kibler felt weak and emotionally drained. Accepting the new challenge,  he learned to ‘control the controllables,’ keeping his emotions in check. As the days progressed, he was ready to race and accept whatever fate was waiting.

But as fate would have it, Kibler, who is hard of hearing, was slammed with yet another complication: he lost his one and only hearing aid.

Although he doesn't race with the aid since it cannot get wet, Kibler relies on the it for everything else, which in itself is a logistical puzzle considering all that happens outside of racing: the ready room, warming up, warming down, media, mixed zones and talking with coaches and teammates. 

Kibler can not hear higher pitches such as the whistle, so he watches and mimics when his heat steps on the blocks. Sometimes he uses a strobe light at his block for the start. 

“I’ve always had to adapt. I read lips. I ask for help. And I have great people who are very patient with me,” he says. “But not having hearing aids at Trials was a huge challenge.” 

Unsteady, Kibler relied on the support of his teammates and coaches to pump positive energy back into him. “It was a fight or flight situation. Everything was on the line,” says Kibler. 

“The real turning point was when Dr. Mistry, a team assistant, told me, ‘I’ve seen this before and I know you’re gong to make this team.’”

Kibler got his Olympic berth by finishing third in the 200-meter free (going 1:45.92), and went on to Tokyo to represent the U.S. in the 4x200 free relay, the only swimmer to compete in both prelims and finals of the relay. 

“I loved the whole experience,” he says. “I loved being around hard-working people, learning so much and paying attention to all the details that Anthony Nesty and Gregg Troy shared with us at training camp. I am truly a student of the sport, and I want more in the future.”

His camp experience in Hawaii wasn’t all work and no play. On the first night, he joined in with teammate Jake Mitchell to sing songs to Honolulu off their balcony. Soon, Kieran Smith and Bobby Fink joined in. Then Jay Litherland, Gunnar Bentz, and more contributed to the nightly routine of the city concerts. 

“We kept it short and sweet, but it was fun,” says Kibler. “At camp, the coaches really got us going. They said, ‘Do what you did to get you here.” 

Looking back, Kibler says when the going got tough, he would rely on his memory of crazy sets that propelled him through the swimming ranks. One in particular was two rounds of 3x300’s @ 3:20, 3:10 and 3:00. The first round, Kibler went 2:50, 2:45, 2:39 and round two was 2:53, 2:44, 2:35.

“It doesn’t sound crazy. It’s not the hardest set ever, but it definitely stands above the rest. We were told that those in the earlier group killed the set so of course the pressure is on,” says Kibler. “My whole body was cramping on the last one.”

He wanted to be an Olympian since he was seven years old, watching Michael Phelps continually find success. And now that he can cross that off his list, Kibler says he’s hungrier than ever, and excited to start another season at Texas.

“The Olympics was a big step in my swimming career. At this point, Nationals, NCAA’s, World Championship Trials and hopefully World Championships are all on the horizon, and the next quad coming in (at Texas) is super dense. I can’t wait to get back.”