Double gold fuels Berens' team goals
Aug. 28, 2009
UT senior swimmer Ricky Berens reflects on the experiences he shared with his Texas teammates and American compatriots at the FINA World Championships held earlier this summer in Rome. Berens discusses his journey to another gold medal and its impact on the upcoming college swimming season. This was the first time I had made a U.S. world championships team. It had always been a goal of mine to be on the team, and (UT senior) Dave Walters made it his freshman year and had the experience of being on a world championship team. In Rome, this was a whole different group on our team after the Olympics. We had some new up-and-comers. We had a lot younger team, especially on the women's side. We saw some new faces that will be going on national trips from now on. It was a big deal for me to get the chance to swim on both relays, and it was great to be in the 800-meter freestyle relay finals with Dave. It was awesome to be able to stand up on the medal podium with one of your college teammates. In terms of who was going to be on the 800 free relay in the finals, Dave had already earned his spot, and there were four of us fighting for one spot in prelims. I led off in 1:44.9 in prelims, and I earned the chance to swim in the finals based on my time and reaction time. It was important for me to come back after a not-so-great 400 free relay and come back with a good swim. It meant a lot to be a part of the 800 free relay again after the Olympics, and with my teammate, Dave, who I've roomed with and trained with on other trips. It was great having him there. He is always a fun guy to be around. Before the relay, we talked about taking it out smoothly and getting home quickly on the back end. My last 50 (meters) was a lot faster than it should have been. I actually took my first 100 out too smoothly and could have gone out a lot faster. The Germans were still ahead going into the last 50, and I wanted to see how much ground I could gain before I pushed off of the last wall. The adrenaline took over from there. I hammered it on the last 50 meters and made sure I put my legs into it. I didn't want to leave anything else in the pool.
We were a little nervous toward the end of the relay. But, we saw Ryan Lochte really kicking hard on the last 50 meters, and we knew we were going to win. It was a lot of fun to watch the finish with the other guys on the relay - Michael Phelps and Dave. Relays are definitely the most exciting races. It was a thrill to walk up into the stands and see our parents and sisters ready to congratulate us. We gave them all hugs and handed them our flowers, and it was fun to do that with Dave. Dave and I are always more comfortable when we have one of our own coaches with us on the trips, so it was helpful to have Kris Kubik on the trip. He brings a lot of wisdom wherever he goes. Kris is a sensible man. He always knows what to say and knows how you're feeling before a big race. When you're nervous, he knows what to say and get your head in the right place, and that's a big help, mentally. He's always there for us and puts us in the right frame of mind whenever necessary. I was disappointed in how I swam last season at the NCAA Championships, and I didn't feel that I used my experiences at the Beijing Olympics enough to my advantage during the college season. It's my last year here at UT, and I feel like we have a lot to prove this year. I want to use this trip to Rome and get on the right path for my senior year. Guys like Dave and myself picked up some valuable things in learn, but I think (UT sophomore swimmer) Jackson Wilcox learned a lot at our U.S. team training camp and the meet in Rome. It'll be fun to see what Jackson does this season. Scott Spann will be back and ready to go, and Jimmy Feigen isn't satisfied with what he did over the summer. So, it's going to be a fun and exciting season. We can't wait to get started. |
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