The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Ricky Berens: Destination, Beijing
07.03.2008 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Texas rising junior swimmer Ricky Berens made his first U.S. Olympic Team on July 1 when he placed third in the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Neb. Classmate Dave Walters placed fifth in the event and will join Berens on the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing. Berens took a few moments away from his busy Olympic Trials schedule to share some thoughts with TexasSports.com on his successful journey to Beijing.
It's really unbelievable...this is what I've been training for all of these years. I've had my sights set on making the U.S. Olympic Team. I knew I had to make the top six in the 200-meter freestyle to make the team, so I knew was going to have to perform at my best. Then, to place third in that event to make the Olympic team was just amazing.
I made my first Olympic Trials cut when I was 15 or 16 in the 200-meter butterfly. I knew that making the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team would be a long shot since I was so young, but it put things in focus for me. I knew I would try again in 2008 and if I couldn't get it done then, I'd try again in 2012.
(UT head coach) Eddie Reese and (assistant coach) Kris Kubik have meant a lot to me in my development. Those two guys make up the best coaching combination in the world! They work great together. I have a lot of talks with both of them, and it's hard to fail under those two. Plus, those of us on the team at UT really look up to our club swimmers at Longhorn Aquatics. We talk to all of those guys and train with them and soak up everything we can from them. They give you the help you need when you have a question.
I'm told my Dad still hasn't stopped smiling. My sister said she had never seen him so jittery, but now he's on the computer looking up plane tickets for Beijing. Of course, my family was really excited...it was very special for them and very special for me.
I'm really happy to have a college teammate in Beijing with Dave Walters making the trip. This is what we've worked for all season, and I'm excited that we'll both be on the team and have a chance to be on the 800 freestyle relay. It will be helpful to have a teammate out there with me. I don't know what to expect in Beijing. I hope to swim the 800 relay, go a lot faster and help Team USA win another gold medal. Then, I'll take all of those experiences into the next U.S. Olympic Trials down the road.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the road to Beijing -- people like my club coach, Dave Gibson, my family and friends, and everyone at UT. I'm really grateful for all of the help. I leave for our Olympic training camp in Palo Alto, Calif., on July 7 and then we leave for Singapore for another camp beginning on July 25 before heading off to Beijing.
Hook 'em!
Ricky
