On being a part of RISE Athletes, Hoff said, “It’s amazing. Honestly, it’s truly a way to give back to something that I wish I had when I was younger.”
For young and aspiring swimmers, she encouraged them to surround themselves with a support system that is understanding and will have their backs no matter what. “Also, take it one step at a time and enjoy the process,” she said. “It’s easy to jump ahead and think of the next thing. Truly, you need to enjoy the process in order to get the most out of your career.”
On the impact of technology on the sport of swimming, she said, “More and more people are doing video analysis, and it has gotten more comprehensive. That definitely helps with the technique and the analysis of the stroke. Obviously, RISE is a product of technology, where we are able to do videoconferencing with someone in a different location.”
When she swam competitively, she shared that her best stroke was the individual medley (IM), but her personal favorite was the breaststroke.
Throughout her respected career in swimming, she acknowledged that she had a lot of highs and a lot of lows. “In the lows, you learn how resilient and relentless you are,” she explained.
She was the recipient of the coveted Golden Goggle Award for “Female Athlete of the Year” three times in her career, in 2005, 2006 and 2007. “Those were awesome,” she admitted. “It is always an honor since the category is stacked with amazing performers, so to win a few was an awesome accomplishment.”
Hoff starred in a commercial for Xarelto, which is a blood thinner that can treat and prevent blood clots. “That commercial was on for a long time. It was the silver lining of getting blood clots in your lungs,” she said.
On her plans for 2020, she revealed, “I recently did a TED talk and I am getting more into speaking engagements and clinics, where I talk about being relentless. Hopefully, you will see more of me in 2020.”
Hoff defined the word success as “making an extraordinary impact.”
To learn more about RISE Athletes, check out their official website and on Instagram.
For more information on Katie Hoff, follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
