At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, McLaughlin won two gold medals (4×100 meter medley, 4×100 meter mixed freestyle) and one silver medal (4×200 meter freestyle) for Team USA in the relay races. “That was really cool. It is always an honor to represent the United States, especially on the relay races,” she said. “I love relay races. I would swim relays in every event if I could.”
On being a part of the Los Angeles Current, she said, “It’s awesome. I am so excited. The Los Angeles Current is definitely the best team, for sure. I am really honored that Lenny Krayzelburg invited me to be on his team. Lenny is so awesome and he was such a great swimmer. It is really exciting to be on his team.”
Each day, McLaughlin is motivated simply by being a part of a team. “That’s part of the reason why I love relays so much. I am surrounded by so many great people and I want to be the best that I can be,” she explained.
On being a swimmer in this digital age, she responded, “For me, the biggest impact of the digital age is that I get to keep in touch with my friends that don’t live in Berkeley. I get to connect with them across the country and that’s really cool.”
“There is definitely some cool technology that is coming out to help swimmers improve. Technology gives us a lot of tools for recovery, and they are coming out with more and more tools,” she said.
At the University of California, Berkeley, McLaughlin is coached by world-renowned swimming coach Teri McKeever. “Teri is awesome. This will be my fifth year being coached by her. She is so creative and she challenges me to become the best swimmer and person that I can be. That is really unique to Teri, and she ultimately helps me be a better athlete in the pool,” she said.
She revealed that her personal favorite stroke is the “backstroke” even though she doesn’t get to swim much of it.
For young and aspiring swimmers, she encouraged them to have fun with the sport. “Really enjoy it and have fun. Don’t take it too seriously and learn from the people around you,” she said.
McLaughlin defined the word success as “challenging herself and trying to be the best version of herself that she can be.”
To learn more about American swimmer Katie McLaughlin, follow her on Instagram.
