Emma Weyant Gets Through Pressure-Packed Second Trials to Reach Olympic Team

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

On the surface, it would seem like Emma Weyant has just been cruising in the fast lane – making the Olympic team in the 400 IM in two consecutive Olympic Trials.

But beneath the surface, it has been a tumultuous journey back to the team for Weyant.

Since winning the silver medal in Tokyo in the 400 IM, Weyant has moved schools and training sites from Virginia to Florida, faced a disqualification at NCAAs and worked her way back to the world’s elite.

“I think ever since Tokyo I’ve had a bit of an up and down. The past two years have definitely been some low points for me, especially after last year with the DQ,” Emma Weyant said. “But I think going into this year, especially, I worked so well with my coaches at Florida on that breaststroke kick that I had a lot of confidence going into this Olympic Trials. I was really nervous, but I was really confident in the training that I put to work this year.”

The move back home to Florida helped Weyant feel more comfortable in and out of the water giving her career a bit of a recharge.

“I group swimming in Sarasota, and I was really fortunate to have a great club career and a great club coach in Brent Arckey,” she said. “But since I made the move to Florida, I’ve kind of had to go back to square one with training and back to the basics to find out what made me about in 2021 and get back on the right path, and I really owe that to the training group at Florida – having people like Bella (Sims), Katie (Ledecky), Kieran (Smith) and Bobby (Finke) training every day; it’s one of the best training groups in the world, so it’s always motivating.”

Then Weyant got to the Olympic Trials and the pressure returned.

“Everyone says this, but I didn’t truly feel it till the day before how much more pressure there is the second time around,” Weyant said. “But just getting through that that was a huge relief and back in 2021, it’s kind of like you’re coming into the meet as a newbie and you don’t really know what to expect. Having gone through it once, coming again, is kind of just thinking about making a difference from what I did in 2021.”

Now, we will see what Weyant can do in her second Olympic Games.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use