She opened up about tackling the 200 meter backstroke and the 100 meter butterfly double. Smith finished in second place in the 200 meter back final with a time of 2:08.80, and she was victorious in the 100 meter butterfly race with a time of 57.88 seconds. “That was a tough double,” she admitted.
“The 200 back was pretty tough. I felt pretty tired at the end there and I guess I got a second wind going in the 100 meter fly,” she added. “I was trying to be positive, I got a good warm-down and it felt really great. I think it was a success overall.”
“The 100 fly is such a tight field but I love that race so much. I have a lot of fun swimming it every time. I love training and practice in it, Mike [Parratto] and I have done a really good job on focusing on fly a lot. I would love to swim it in the Trials if it ends up working out. I love the 100 fly, so if I can make it work, I really want to do it” she added.
On her goals going into the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, Smith said, “Just continuing to put my head down and train hard these last few months going into the Trials. We have a few meets coming up. I am trying to put up some good times this winter heading into spring and summer, and seeing where I am at right now, so that’s what I am focusing on.”
She acknowledged that she has improved a lot mentally outside of the pool, as well as mentally in regard to competitions. “Over the past year, I have had time to reflect on swimming. It has allowed me to step back and look at things in a different way and that has helped me mature a lot as a swimmer,” she said.
