Friday, April 22, 2022
Luca Urlando is Ready to Race in 2022 and Beyond
Head down and finish.
That’s what Luca Urlando still tells himself he should have done in the 200 butterfly final last summer at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming in Omaha.
Heading into the evening’s race for an Olympic berth, Urlando was positioned in Lane 4 with the fastest semifinals qualifying time. And after the first 150 meters, he was leading the pack.
But when he took a final breath over the final 15 meters, he lost his edge and finished third—just nine hundredths behind second place—and was left off the Olympic team.
“Taking a breath at that final stage of the race slowed down your rate and makes your hips sink and you lose some momentum at the most crucial part,” said Urlando, who is finishing up his sophomore year at the University of Georgia.
“Coming so close (to making the Olympic team) was extremely disappointing, but I felt so much support from my peers and family that I’m hungrier than ever.”
With the Phillips 66 International Team Trials and a spot on this summer’s FINA World Championship team at stake April 26-30, Urlando said his strategy next week will be very different.
And after the NCAA season he put together for the Bulldogs, he knows he’s in good shape heading to Greensboro next week.
At NCAA Championships, Urlando finished second in the 100 and 200 butterfly events and third in the 200 individual medley. He also swam the opening backstroke leg on the Bulldogs’ 400 medley relay and set a new American, NCAA and U.S. Open record (43.35).
Urlando has been swimming since age 6 (summer league) and year-round since age 10 and said he knows he’s ready to take the next step toward making is first World Championship team.
For him, it would be a long-time dream come true – and a powerful stepping stone toward making the Paris Olympic team in 2024 – just two shorts years away.
“It would definitely be my biggest meet so far, and I know what I learned at Trials (last summer) will serve me well at (World) Trials,” said Urlando, who is planning to compete in the 100 and 200 butterfly, 200 IM and possibly the 100 back next week.
“Even though NCAAs just ended a few weeks ago, I started training long course a couple days a week before (the meet) and was in the pool the Monday after NCAAs training for Nationals.”
With all of the success he’s enjoyed the past couple of years—really since he won the National title in the 100 fly in 2019 and became the top-ranked male collegiate recruit out of high school—Urlando said he is able to ignore outside expectations and focus on his own objectives and goals.
In fact, if there are any expectations for him when it comes to his performance in the pool, they come from him and no one else.
“I know (some) people expected me to make the (Olympic) team last year, but the only expectations that really matter to me are my own,” he said. “I don’t allow other people’s expectations to impact me. It’s something I’ve always done. I’m able to block them out. My pressure comes from me and no one else.”
For Urlando, it all comes down to controlling what he can rather than lamenting over what he can’t.
He said it’s been a learning process that he knows will serve him well as he looks toward his races next week at Trials and beyond that.
“Focusing on what you can control is a good approach to any sport, so it’s something I’ve adopted and remember every time I race,” said Urlando, a sports management major who wants to pursue a career in coaching or high-performance analytics post-swimming. “During a meet, if you concern yourself with what everyone else is doing, you lose sight of what you are doing.
“I’m never going to say I have a great feeling about how I’m going to do at a meet. But I’m always excited to race – and I’m excited to race next week.”
That’s what Luca Urlando still tells himself he should have done in the 200 butterfly final last summer at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming in Omaha.
Heading into the evening’s race for an Olympic berth, Urlando was positioned in Lane 4 with the fastest semifinals qualifying time. And after the first 150 meters, he was leading the pack.
But when he took a final breath over the final 15 meters, he lost his edge and finished third—just nine hundredths behind second place—and was left off the Olympic team.
“Taking a breath at that final stage of the race slowed down your rate and makes your hips sink and you lose some momentum at the most crucial part,” said Urlando, who is finishing up his sophomore year at the University of Georgia.
“Coming so close (to making the Olympic team) was extremely disappointing, but I felt so much support from my peers and family that I’m hungrier than ever.”
With the Phillips 66 International Team Trials and a spot on this summer’s FINA World Championship team at stake April 26-30, Urlando said his strategy next week will be very different.
And after the NCAA season he put together for the Bulldogs, he knows he’s in good shape heading to Greensboro next week.
At NCAA Championships, Urlando finished second in the 100 and 200 butterfly events and third in the 200 individual medley. He also swam the opening backstroke leg on the Bulldogs’ 400 medley relay and set a new American, NCAA and U.S. Open record (43.35).
Urlando has been swimming since age 6 (summer league) and year-round since age 10 and said he knows he’s ready to take the next step toward making is first World Championship team.
For him, it would be a long-time dream come true – and a powerful stepping stone toward making the Paris Olympic team in 2024 – just two shorts years away.
“It would definitely be my biggest meet so far, and I know what I learned at Trials (last summer) will serve me well at (World) Trials,” said Urlando, who is planning to compete in the 100 and 200 butterfly, 200 IM and possibly the 100 back next week.
“Even though NCAAs just ended a few weeks ago, I started training long course a couple days a week before (the meet) and was in the pool the Monday after NCAAs training for Nationals.”
With all of the success he’s enjoyed the past couple of years—really since he won the National title in the 100 fly in 2019 and became the top-ranked male collegiate recruit out of high school—Urlando said he is able to ignore outside expectations and focus on his own objectives and goals.
In fact, if there are any expectations for him when it comes to his performance in the pool, they come from him and no one else.
“I know (some) people expected me to make the (Olympic) team last year, but the only expectations that really matter to me are my own,” he said. “I don’t allow other people’s expectations to impact me. It’s something I’ve always done. I’m able to block them out. My pressure comes from me and no one else.”
For Urlando, it all comes down to controlling what he can rather than lamenting over what he can’t.
He said it’s been a learning process that he knows will serve him well as he looks toward his races next week at Trials and beyond that.
“Focusing on what you can control is a good approach to any sport, so it’s something I’ve adopted and remember every time I race,” said Urlando, a sports management major who wants to pursue a career in coaching or high-performance analytics post-swimming. “During a meet, if you concern yourself with what everyone else is doing, you lose sight of what you are doing.
“I’m never going to say I have a great feeling about how I’m going to do at a meet. But I’m always excited to race – and I’m excited to race next week.”