@KimSwim1 is The Little Swimmer That Could Kim Vandenberg grew - TopicsExpress



          

@KimSwim1 is The Little Swimmer That Could Kim Vandenberg grew up in Northern California playing several different sports. She was tomboy, and wanted to be just like her older brother, John. Lucky for Team USA, her older brother happened to swim, and that drove Kim to the pool. Every summer, Kim would spend hours racing and chasing her brother in their California backyard pool, and when she was eight, she joined the local summer league swim team. By the time Kim was twelve, she was swimming year-round. But like so many kids, she grew tired of the early mornings and cold weather. She considered quitting the sport until she swam a lifetime best in the 50 free that qualified her for Junior Nationals in North Dakota, which would be Kim’s first travel meet. Her passion for racing and the freedom of travel gave her a new perspective on the sport…suddenly swimming was fun again. Kim was completely inspired after qualifying for such a big meet and getting to travel with the older kids on the team. She knew she could be a great swimmer and brought that optimism to practice with her every day. It paid off, because Kim qualified for the 2000 US Olympic Trials in seven different events—at just 16 years old! Despite being intimidated and starstruck at her first Olympic Trials, Kim realized she belonged at that level. She realized she could swim like the other Olympic hopefuls. Kim was recruited for college swim teams and signed with UCLA in 2002. Once again, the level of expectation increased, and so did Kim’s passion for swimming fast. At the 2004 US Olympic Trials, she qualified for the Final heat in the 200 butterfly, and got to race next to her swimming idol, Misty Hyman. Despite missing the Olympic team, she gained experience and a new-found faith that she could be an Olympian herself. She knew she was capable of it. And she was right. Building up to the 2008 Trials, Kim became a professional, signing a contract with Speedo. She had taken her training to a new level, incorporating nutrition, sports psychology, altitude training and everything she could think of to make the US Olympic team. She took time to train in different places, including Michigan’s Club Wolverine; which at the time, had the best male freestylers in the world: Michael Phelps, Klete Keller, Erik Vendt, Peter Vanderkaay, and Davis Tarwater, to name a few. Her freestyle greatly improved, and it was ultimately the 200 freestyle that earned her a spot on the 2008 US Olympic Team. Kim returned from Beijing with a Bronze Medal in the 4×200 Freestyle Relay. What makes Kim unique is where she has allowed swimming to take her. Rather than staying in the US, after the Olympics, she moved to Europe and competed in France, Italy, Sweden, Portugal, Holland, Austria and Spain. Her European experience has helped her create a name for herself in the international swimming scene, as she is a regular competitor abroad. Kim has proudly represented Team USA for over ten years and she plans on continuing her career…a career characterized by perseverance defeating adversity, and constant optimism throughout. To her, challenges are welcome as a learning opportunity to see what she’s truly capable of. Kim Vandenberg is the little swimmer that could.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 20:23:19 +0000

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