Back in the game after Rehab

Hello everyone, the last time you saw or heard from me was in Paris, almost two years ago. My journey since has been quite a whirlwind, to say the least. Last year, I experienced a shoulder injury that ultimately forced me to withdraw from US Nationals and give up my hope of qualifying for the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. This was obviously hard physically, but even more so mentally. At the time, this was the last thing I wanted to deal with because injuries suck, and no athlete wants to go through that process, but that process taught me a lot about myself and the sport of swimming.

I believe mentality plays a huge role in the sport of swimming. I spent all of last season comparing myself to how I was swimming slower than the year before, which drained me mentally. For months, I refused to take a break to take care of my shoulder because I thought I would lose training time to my competitors. I believe the break I was forced to take had more positive effects on me than negative.

I took around 5 months off from normal training to focus on shoulder rehab, and this allowed my body and mind to reset and recover. I hadn’t taken a break this long since COVID, and the benefits were substantial. I started swimming more again in late September, fresh, in a new environment at Indiana University. My experience has been great so far, and I got back into shape much quicker than I thought I would, which helped me fully realize that time off can be a very good thing for high-level athletes.