He is looking forward to this sophomore season of the ISL, where he is competing for the DC Trident. “It feels good,” he said. “I really like the team. I felt this great, positive team energy that was so awesome and exciting to be a part of. It was impossible not to cheer for everybody, even when I was doing poorly. It put a smile on my face and made me realize that this is what swimming is all about: having fun and racing fast.”
“Last year, DC Trident had an all-female coaching staff, which is pretty rare in any sport. That was just cool and exciting to be a part of. I am just happy to be back,” he said.
Devine had nothing but the greatest remarks about his team’s General Manager, four-time Olympic medalist Kaitlin Sandeno. “Kaitlin is awesome, she is so positive and super stylish, which is rare in the swimming world. She is so great and she always has the best outfits. She trusted me and she believed in me, which is really awesome,” he said.
He shared that he has been “good” during quarantine. “For me, I took an opportunity to step back from swimming a little bit and I think I needed a little bit of a breath. I’ve been surfing and cooking a lot. I’ve spent a lot of ‘alone’ time but I’ve adapted well and I enjoy my own time and I’ve been keeping up some hobbies and new skills. San Diego is the best place to be during a quarantine,” he said.
On being a swimmer in the digital age, he said, “I think it’s good. I’m a technique-oriented swimmer. Being able to watch videos has always been helpful for me. When you swim a really good race, it feels so good to watch it back and see how it looks from your coach’s perspective.”
For young and aspiring swimmers, he said, “Make sure that swimming is something that you enjoy and that it’s something that you like to do. That’s the secret to success, especially after doing it for 19 years. At the end of the day, we are all doing it because it’s supposed to be fun. That’s really important.”
He listed the “butterfly” as his personal favorite stroke in swimming. “I’ve always really liked it,” he said. “It is the most flowy stroke. It feels so good when you can do it well.”
When asked if there were any moments in his career that helped define him, he said, “I do think that being openly gay in the sport is something that people assert and say that it doesn’t matter and that it doesn’t define me. It has absolutely 100 percent defined my trajectory in the sport. It has given me so much strength, power, and confidence. It has given me a really strong mindset and it has taught me resilience.”
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, he responded, “Relaxed.” “Comfortable, happy, relaxed and grateful,” he said. “I feel a lot of positive emotions right now where I am and how swimming is going with Team Elite. It feels like a new and necessary chapter in my swimming career. I’m falling back in love with the sport again. I think pro swimming is the best thing ever.”
Devine defined the word success as “being happy and fulfilled in what you are doing.”
For his fans and supporters, he concluded, “I am grateful for anybody who has invested in me and has made this possible for me to be down here, pursuing my dreams and living the pro swim life.”
To learn more about American swimmer Abrahm Devine, follow him on Instagram.
