Thursday, September 30, 2021
From Serving at Local Restaurant to Standing the Olympic Podium
Bowe Becker was done with swimming in the spring of 2020.
After losing his roster spot on the International Swimming League’s Cali Condors, he didn’t have enough income to continue training. And even if he did, Becker was battling a serious case of burnout as the coronavirus pandemic closed pools around the world.
Although that would’ve been an easy and understandable time to put swimming behind him forever, Becker’s retirement proved short-lived. He returned to the sport and experienced one of the unlikeliest journeys to becoming a gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“I try to share my story to inspire other people,” Becker said. “I share these kinds of things with people just because I want them to know, no matter what’s thrown in your way, don’t give up. As soon as you give up, you never will know if it was possible. If you keep pushing, keep working toward whatever your goals are, whether they’re massive goals or even just smaller goals, anything’s possible if you set your mind to it.”
Becker’s unlikely path to Tokyo started when he landed a job as a server/bartender/busboy at The Lodge, a coffee and wine bar in Reno, Nevada, that caters to people visiting Lake Tahoe.
“Just kind of a chill little place,” Becker said of the restaurant.
He had been working there for five or six months when Jason Lezak, the Condors’ General Manager and an eight-time Olympic medalist, called with an offer to rejoin the team. To get a sense of whether Becker was in shape, he asked Becker how long he had been out of the water.
The truth was six months. Becker told him two. The roster spot was his.
“So, I’m like, ‘Well, s---, am I going to be able to do something like this?’” Becker said.
His longest break from swimming was two months, which came after he finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and fourth in the 50y freestyle representing the University of Minnesota his senior year at the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving National Championships.
Becker called some of his former coaches to see if they thought he would have enough time to get back into shape. Persuaded that he did, Becker returned to Minnesota and trained specifically for the 100y freestyle, figuring that was his best chance to qualify for the Olympics because of the extra berths allotted for swimmers to compete in the 4x100y freestyle relay.
As could be expected for someone coming off a lengthy break, Becker didn’t swim great during the ISL season. He scored just 4.5 points for the ISL champion Condors, tying for 288th most among all competitors. He admits he was “kind of not a nice guy” for misleading Lezak but that he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.
Becker described himself as “somewhat normal in the pool” by December 2020, one month after the ISL season ended and four months into his training restart. By the time he reached the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming seven months later, Becker said he felt as good as he did after his senior season of college.
He finished fifth in the 100m freestyle at Trials and had to sweat out whether enough male swimmers would qualify for multiple events that he could be added to Team USA. Fortunately, enough athletes did, and Becker officially became an Olympian..
He teamed with Caeleb Dressel, Blake Pieroni, and Zach Apple to win the 4x100m freestyle relay in Tokyo. The gold medal validated his decision to return.
The U.S. 4x100m freestyle relay gold-medal winning team. From L-R: Dressel, Pieroni, Becker, Apple
“I never wanted to look back and say, ‘I regret not trying to go for the Olympics,’” Becker said. “I didn’t want to have that regret in the back of my mind for the rest of my life. I wanted to do it while I still had a chance, while it was still possible. You just take what’s given to you.”
Becker realizes fortune played a role in his opportunity to keep swimming. The spot on the Condors only opened because some Australian swimmers weren’t allowed to compete in the ISL last year because of coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions.
Now, the U.S. National Team member in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle isn't leaving anything up to luck. He’s making the most of his second chance.
“I’m definitely trying to go [to the Olympics] in 2024,” Becker said. “I have a lot to improve upon in the next following years.”
After losing his roster spot on the International Swimming League’s Cali Condors, he didn’t have enough income to continue training. And even if he did, Becker was battling a serious case of burnout as the coronavirus pandemic closed pools around the world.
Although that would’ve been an easy and understandable time to put swimming behind him forever, Becker’s retirement proved short-lived. He returned to the sport and experienced one of the unlikeliest journeys to becoming a gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“I try to share my story to inspire other people,” Becker said. “I share these kinds of things with people just because I want them to know, no matter what’s thrown in your way, don’t give up. As soon as you give up, you never will know if it was possible. If you keep pushing, keep working toward whatever your goals are, whether they’re massive goals or even just smaller goals, anything’s possible if you set your mind to it.”
Becker’s unlikely path to Tokyo started when he landed a job as a server/bartender/busboy at The Lodge, a coffee and wine bar in Reno, Nevada, that caters to people visiting Lake Tahoe.
“Just kind of a chill little place,” Becker said of the restaurant.
He had been working there for five or six months when Jason Lezak, the Condors’ General Manager and an eight-time Olympic medalist, called with an offer to rejoin the team. To get a sense of whether Becker was in shape, he asked Becker how long he had been out of the water.
The truth was six months. Becker told him two. The roster spot was his.
“So, I’m like, ‘Well, s---, am I going to be able to do something like this?’” Becker said.
His longest break from swimming was two months, which came after he finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and fourth in the 50y freestyle representing the University of Minnesota his senior year at the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving National Championships.
Becker called some of his former coaches to see if they thought he would have enough time to get back into shape. Persuaded that he did, Becker returned to Minnesota and trained specifically for the 100y freestyle, figuring that was his best chance to qualify for the Olympics because of the extra berths allotted for swimmers to compete in the 4x100y freestyle relay.
As could be expected for someone coming off a lengthy break, Becker didn’t swim great during the ISL season. He scored just 4.5 points for the ISL champion Condors, tying for 288th most among all competitors. He admits he was “kind of not a nice guy” for misleading Lezak but that he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.
Becker described himself as “somewhat normal in the pool” by December 2020, one month after the ISL season ended and four months into his training restart. By the time he reached the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming seven months later, Becker said he felt as good as he did after his senior season of college.
He finished fifth in the 100m freestyle at Trials and had to sweat out whether enough male swimmers would qualify for multiple events that he could be added to Team USA. Fortunately, enough athletes did, and Becker officially became an Olympian..
He teamed with Caeleb Dressel, Blake Pieroni, and Zach Apple to win the 4x100m freestyle relay in Tokyo. The gold medal validated his decision to return.
The U.S. 4x100m freestyle relay gold-medal winning team. From L-R: Dressel, Pieroni, Becker, Apple
“I never wanted to look back and say, ‘I regret not trying to go for the Olympics,’” Becker said. “I didn’t want to have that regret in the back of my mind for the rest of my life. I wanted to do it while I still had a chance, while it was still possible. You just take what’s given to you.”
Becker realizes fortune played a role in his opportunity to keep swimming. The spot on the Condors only opened because some Australian swimmers weren’t allowed to compete in the ISL last year because of coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions.
Now, the U.S. National Team member in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle isn't leaving anything up to luck. He’s making the most of his second chance.
“I’m definitely trying to go [to the Olympics] in 2024,” Becker said. “I have a lot to improve upon in the next following years.”