The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Outside the Lanes: Garrett Weber-Gale
10.07.2004 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Two weeks after narrowly missing a spot on the 2004 Olympic roster, finishing 23-hundredths of a second behind the six-place competitor, sophomore All-American Garrett Weber-Gale captured the first individual national title of his career, winning the 100-meter freestyle at the 2004 ConocoPhilllips National Championships. A proven freestyle specialist with one year of collegiate swimming and a wealth of national experience under his belt, Weber-Gale has high hopes for himself and Texas swimming as he and his fellow swimmers prepare for the dual-meet opener on Friday, Oct. 8, at Indiana.
After narrowly missing a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team, you bounced back to win the 100-meter freestyle at the National Championships in August. What was that experience like for you, coming so close to a trip to the Olympics, then winning at Nationals? It was a letdown not making the Olympic Team and missing it by such a close margin, but going into the Olympic Trials, I said 'If I make it, I make it, and if I don't, I'm meant to do other things.' I guess maybe I was meant to go to the National Championships, win the 100 free, and do really well in the relays. I would have loved to make the Olympic team, but not making the Olympics has lit a fire inside me, and, in a lot of ways, it's the best thing for me. I'm more motivated now than I ever have been.
How important were Eddie Reese and Kris Kubik in your decision to sign with Texas? One of the best things about Texas Swimming is that they teach you how to be successful in life, and not just swimming. Coach Reese is an extremely knowledgeable man, and he's not just a swim coach. He and Kris Kubik are there for everything.
How has Coach Reese helped you become a better swimmer? He gives me hard sets everyday, and I've become much stronger and in better shape. He really convinced me that I needed to become a lot stronger, because I was initially tentative about that. Now I'm a lot stronger and a much better swimmer. He's always there for not only me, but everyone else on the team and I really appreciate that.
What is your strategy with the 100-meter freestyle? I basically take it out as fast as I can and bite my lip the last 50 meters. That's the only way I know how to swim it, and if I don't swim it that way, I don't feel as satisfied. I have to take it out as fast as I can, because it makes me feel a lot better when I get to the wall and I'm in pain and I know I've given it all I have.
What do you attribute your success in the pool to? My parents and my sister. Those three are the most unbelievable people. They've always been there for me, and I'm sure they always will be. It was also a lot of hard work. Josh Davis (former Longhorn and 96' and 2000 Olympian) showed me how being mentally tough is the key. When you need to train harder, it is all your mental capability. Your body can do it, you just need to decide you're going to do it.
How have all the former Longhorn Olympians who still swim in Austin helped you improve since you've arrived at UT? One of the best things about Texas is that you have guys like Neil Walker, Nate Dusing, Brenden Hansen, Aaron Piersol, Ian Crocker, all some of the best swimmers in the world, all helping you make your stroke better. They can look at your stroke from underwater, they swim next to you, and they can offer you advice on how to improve your stroke. There's no other place you can go and swim with so many former Olympians.
What have you learned from swimming with former Longhorns and 2004 Olympians Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, and Brendan Hansen? The guys taught me that you have to work at everything you do in order to be successful. Some guys pick sets to work on in practice, but Aaron [Peirsol] works on everything in every practice, and that's one of the reasons he's such a good swimmer. I also learned that leaders don't always have to be the most outspoken people. The three of them were such great leaders and everyone respected the kind of swimmers and people they were.
How do you manage to balance swimming and school? It teaches you how to manage your time. I try to get my work done during the day so I can relax at night and go to bed early so I can swim in the morning.
How and when did you start swimming? My mom started me floating on my back when I was three-months old. I was on my first team when I was four, but I didn't start seriously training in the mornings until my junior year of high school. I kept doing it because I was good at it, and because it was a release for me. If I was stressed out, I could just get in the water and swim, and I would feel better.
Why did you decide to come to Texas? I picked UT because it combines the best in athletics and academics. I don't want to swim for the rest of my life, so I figured I better get a good education so I can have a good career when I get older.
How are you and the team preparing for the meet at Indiana on Friday? We're just looking to go into Indiana and race. I'm sure they're going to be good and it will be a hard-fought dual meet. I think everyone on the team just wants to start racing because that's when the season starts getting fun. The thing about racing early in the season is that it doesn't really matter what times you swim, it's just about racing.
What do you like to when you are not swimming? The team and I like to play ultimate Frisbee and beach volleyball. I also recently bought a sailboat that I use on Lake Travis. I just really like hanging out with the team. We do stuff every weekend, such as going to Barton Springs and Lake Travis.
What is the biggest difference between living in Wisconsin and Texas? In the winter in Wisconsin, there's too long a time where there is no snow and it's just bitter cold, but it's beautiful in the summertime. I like it down here a lot too. The people are friendly, and the weather is great. It's hard to beat it down here, that's for sure.
What kind of music do you listen to? I like hip-hop, and I like some classic rock. I listen to everything, it really depends on what kind of mood I'm in. Before I go to sleep, I'll put on some Bob Marley and just relax. Before a race, I like Usher and some Petey Pablo. When I was growing up, I used to love Jimmy Buffett. I used to listen to it all the time with my Dad and sister.
Do you have any superstitions? Not really. You just have to relax and go with the flow. I like to just sit by myself and watch the meet around 20-30 minutes before I swim. My big thing before meets is to remind myself how much hard work I've put into the race. That gets me all fired up.
