“It was awesome to compete for the Cali Condors. Winning was amazing,” she admitted. “Last season was pretty unsatisfying, so coming back stronger and winning the final was awesome. Doing it in an undefeated fashion was just the icing on the cake.”
She complimented Cali Condors Head Coach Jonty Skinner and General Manager Jason Lezak. “They are both awesome. We got really lucky with our staff. They are amazing,” she said. “This was my second year working with Jason and he’s the best. Jason was very inspiring as a GM.”
“Jonty [Skinner] is also great, he has been in the sport for so long. Although his coaching style may have been different from what I was used to, it was awesome getting to work with him and picking up things along the way. I really enjoyed working with both of them,” she added.
On her biggest takeaways this ISL season, Hannis responded, “The biggest takeaway for me this season was being flexible and adaptable. That was important. This ISL season I proved to myself that I was strong enough, fast enough, and durable enough to handle more strain than I realized, which is really cool.”
A 2016 Olympian, Hannis is also a four-time World Championship medalist (two gold and two bronze medals) and a two-time NCAA champion.
She shared her excitement for the U.S. Olympic Trials and hopefully, the Tokyo Olympics.
For young and aspiring swimmers, she encouraged them to always have fun and don’t be afraid to be different, try new things, and test boundaries. “I love to play with my stroke and try new things and that’s what made me as successful as I am,” she said.
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Hannis said, “Changing and Adapting.” “It has been a year of new normal,” she admitted. “It has been so different and I have had to adapt to so many different things.”
She listed the breaststroke as her personal favorite stroke. “You either love it or you hate it,” she said. “From a technical side, the breaststroke has the most variation in the way people swim and how people swim fast. My stroke is more of a harmonic stroke where there is some amplitude to it.”
Hannis defined the word success as follows: “For me, success is not a time or place or a result. There is too much more that goes into it. I think of it as having fun (enjoying this), doing my best, and giving 100 percent, as well as learning something, that’s a big part of my swimming as well.”
She was born and raised in Santa Rosa, California. Along with swimming, she grew up playing soccer, volleyball, water polo and running cross country. She competed and graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Sports Management. When she is not swimming, she enjoys baking and spending time with her dog, Kevin.
For her fans and supporters, Hannis concluded, “A huge massive thank you. I wouldn’t have been half as successful without the support of so many people: my family, my close circle from back home, and the Tennessee Vols, where I am actually coming up on 10 years in Rocky Top.”
