Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Kate Douglass is Growing as a Competitor with Each Race
Going into Olympic Trials last summer, Kate Douglass had a hard time believing she actually had a shot at making the Olympic team.
Because of that, she came to Omaha for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming with few expectations but lots of hope.
In her first event, the 100 butterfly, she finished a surprising yet frustrating third, just missing making the team.
That close call gave her a lot of confidence heading into the 200 individual, and while she wanted University of Virginia teammate Alex Walsh to do well, she also had her own goals.
“I really wanted (both) Alex and me to make it together,” she said. “We were racing next to each other, and all of our friends were in the stands watching, and I just knew that if we both made it that would be a moment I would never forget.”
The Cavalier teammates went on to both medal–Walsh the silver and Douglass the bronze–in Tokyo.
This week, the duo along with the rest of their team head to NCAA Championships where they are a strong favorite to defend their National title. Both are top contenders in several events and combine to swim on the top relays in the country.
Douglass said during the entire Olympic experience, she didn’t think she ever fully processed that she was actually there – because she never imagined that she would be there.
She added that she had an amazing, fun time largely because she was already friends with a lot of the girls on the team.
They joked around that it was just like one of their junior team trips, except it was the Olympics.
“I think that helped me feel more relaxed,” said Douglass, a junior at Virginia, who competed at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. “We just had fun the whole time and made so many memories together.
“And obviously getting to finally race and win an Olympic medal was a crazy experience. I think I was kind of in shock for the whole day after that race.”
Like many young swimmers, Douglass got her feet wet in the pool when she started swimming summer club around the age of six. It wasn’t long before she went year-round and fell in love with the sport.
Along the way to achieving her Olympic dream, Douglass won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships and won an NCAA title in the 50 freestyle at last year’s championships.
Douglass said she chose Virginia because she not only loved the school but also knew she could be part of building the program into the powerhouse that it is today.
For her, being part of the school’s first NCAA Championship team proved her decision a good one.
“For that to happen in just my second year on the team was crazy and such a cool experience,” said Douglass, who also finished second in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly and swam on Virginia’s four second-place relays at NCAAs.
“There’s definitely more pressure on us this year to defend that title, but after the awesome season we’ve had so far, I think we’re all really excited to show what we can do.”
Several weeks ago at Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships, Douglass won three individual events and swam on four relays–anchoring the 200 medley and 400 medley relays and leading off the 200 and 400 freestyle relays–three setting American records and all four besting previous U.S. Open and NCAA records.
Suffice it to say, she and her teammates thoroughly enjoyed this year’s conference meet – and she left having gained more confidence heading into this week’s NCAAs.
“I went into it (ACC’s) not really thinking too hard about my own performances; I just wanted to enjoy it and have fun with my teammates, and win the meet of course,” said Douglass, a statistics major who will graduate next year.
“I had some great weeks of training leading up to ACCs, so I was confident that I would have some good races, but I was still shocked by the three American records our relays broke.”
Douglass attributes her improvement since she arrived in Charlottesville almost three years ago to her overall Virginia experience.
Her training has continued to improve each year, and after making the adjustment to lifting weights in addition to her pool training, she’s gained a lot of muscle. She also said she’s learned how to get more out of practice.
That improvement not only surfaced last year at NCAAs, Olympic Trials and Olympic Games, but it carried over to FINA World Championships (25m) last December.
She left Abu Dhabi with two gold (200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay), two silver (200 medley relay, 200 mixed medley relay) and bronze (200 IM) medals. She also just missed the podium in the 200 mixed freestyle and 400 medley relays.
Douglass said while the meet was a great success and a lot of fun, she knows that this meet is another step for her to gain international competition experience to be even stronger for this summer’s Phillips 66 International Team Trials (where the 2022 FINA World Championship team will be selected) and the 2024 Olympics in two short years.
Each time she competes, she said she gains more perspective and learns better how to manage expectations – mostly her own.
“Because of the experiences I’ve had, I am now more confident in myself that I can perform well under pressure,” said Douglass, who made the finals in all four events last summer at Trials (6th 50 free, 7th 100 free).
“But definitely something I like to focus on is just having fun with my teammates and not thinking too hard about my own races because that helps me feel less pressure and more relaxed before a race, which I think is when perform my best.”
Because of that, she came to Omaha for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming with few expectations but lots of hope.
In her first event, the 100 butterfly, she finished a surprising yet frustrating third, just missing making the team.
That close call gave her a lot of confidence heading into the 200 individual, and while she wanted University of Virginia teammate Alex Walsh to do well, she also had her own goals.
“I really wanted (both) Alex and me to make it together,” she said. “We were racing next to each other, and all of our friends were in the stands watching, and I just knew that if we both made it that would be a moment I would never forget.”
The Cavalier teammates went on to both medal–Walsh the silver and Douglass the bronze–in Tokyo.
This week, the duo along with the rest of their team head to NCAA Championships where they are a strong favorite to defend their National title. Both are top contenders in several events and combine to swim on the top relays in the country.
Douglass said during the entire Olympic experience, she didn’t think she ever fully processed that she was actually there – because she never imagined that she would be there.
She added that she had an amazing, fun time largely because she was already friends with a lot of the girls on the team.
They joked around that it was just like one of their junior team trips, except it was the Olympics.
“I think that helped me feel more relaxed,” said Douglass, a junior at Virginia, who competed at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. “We just had fun the whole time and made so many memories together.
“And obviously getting to finally race and win an Olympic medal was a crazy experience. I think I was kind of in shock for the whole day after that race.”
Like many young swimmers, Douglass got her feet wet in the pool when she started swimming summer club around the age of six. It wasn’t long before she went year-round and fell in love with the sport.
Along the way to achieving her Olympic dream, Douglass won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships and won an NCAA title in the 50 freestyle at last year’s championships.
Douglass said she chose Virginia because she not only loved the school but also knew she could be part of building the program into the powerhouse that it is today.
For her, being part of the school’s first NCAA Championship team proved her decision a good one.
“For that to happen in just my second year on the team was crazy and such a cool experience,” said Douglass, who also finished second in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly and swam on Virginia’s four second-place relays at NCAAs.
“There’s definitely more pressure on us this year to defend that title, but after the awesome season we’ve had so far, I think we’re all really excited to show what we can do.”
Several weeks ago at Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships, Douglass won three individual events and swam on four relays–anchoring the 200 medley and 400 medley relays and leading off the 200 and 400 freestyle relays–three setting American records and all four besting previous U.S. Open and NCAA records.
Suffice it to say, she and her teammates thoroughly enjoyed this year’s conference meet – and she left having gained more confidence heading into this week’s NCAAs.
“I went into it (ACC’s) not really thinking too hard about my own performances; I just wanted to enjoy it and have fun with my teammates, and win the meet of course,” said Douglass, a statistics major who will graduate next year.
“I had some great weeks of training leading up to ACCs, so I was confident that I would have some good races, but I was still shocked by the three American records our relays broke.”
Douglass attributes her improvement since she arrived in Charlottesville almost three years ago to her overall Virginia experience.
Her training has continued to improve each year, and after making the adjustment to lifting weights in addition to her pool training, she’s gained a lot of muscle. She also said she’s learned how to get more out of practice.
That improvement not only surfaced last year at NCAAs, Olympic Trials and Olympic Games, but it carried over to FINA World Championships (25m) last December.
She left Abu Dhabi with two gold (200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay), two silver (200 medley relay, 200 mixed medley relay) and bronze (200 IM) medals. She also just missed the podium in the 200 mixed freestyle and 400 medley relays.
Douglass said while the meet was a great success and a lot of fun, she knows that this meet is another step for her to gain international competition experience to be even stronger for this summer’s Phillips 66 International Team Trials (where the 2022 FINA World Championship team will be selected) and the 2024 Olympics in two short years.
Each time she competes, she said she gains more perspective and learns better how to manage expectations – mostly her own.
“Because of the experiences I’ve had, I am now more confident in myself that I can perform well under pressure,” said Douglass, who made the finals in all four events last summer at Trials (6th 50 free, 7th 100 free).
“But definitely something I like to focus on is just having fun with my teammates and not thinking too hard about my own races because that helps me feel less pressure and more relaxed before a race, which I think is when perform my best.”