It all started at the Olympic Trial Meet. We were all up on the podiums waiting for the announcers to call our names. “Daniel Rocken, the small-town racer out of Missouri”. My heart was beating out of my chest. I can’t believe I’ve made it this far in the competitions. It is a dream come true just to be here, let alone be one of the favorites. As the announcer finishes calling all the racers names, we get into our ready positions.

“On your mark, get set, GO”! The gun fires and we’re diving into the pool of water. From here on, it’s all a blur to me. All I can think about is getting to the other end and back as fast as I possibly can. I don’t even take a glance at my competitors as I don’t want to risk taking any longer than I must. Thirty feet, twenty feet, ten, five and I’m half way done.
Flip, kick, spin and now I’m in the last stretch. Let me tell you, one of the best things about swimming is that you never get hot or sweat. I can hear my competitors pounding the water beside me but I know then that I have the upper hand because it is better to have smooth strokes than to be too clanky while swimming. All my muscles are tired from the 100% I am giving in this race and I can feel it’s effects as I am gliding through the water. I can see the wall now, I’m almost there, it’s so close! I think I have pulled away from most of the pack but to make sure I never let up.

THUD! I hit the wall and spin to the screen to see my time. I have to wait a few seconds because the other racers are finishing and they are calculating the times. When the results come up, I can hardly believe my eyes...second place!

It is amazing that I won second place at the meet. I know that means that I now get to go to Rio because that was the qualifying meet. The next few months before I leave were some of the best I’ve ever had. Getting congratulated, feeling accomplished, having something to work towards and seeing family off before I left was amazing.

On the plane ride, my buddy Ralph and I played Angry Birds the whole way. I will be spending a lot of time with Ralph in Rio because he got 4th in the qualifying meet so he will be swimming with me. He easily beats me in Angry Birds because I am not very good at video games and never have been. The only game I’m good at is Checkers.

When the plane lands, we are greeted by tons of screaming fans for the United States Olympic Team. We get an even bigger surprise when we reach the Winners Plaza. We know the homes are just past the plaza. So, we will be spending a lot of time here because it is so close. The Plaza is mostly a huge mall with foods and fun stuff to do but everything is free. The best part is the water park part of the Plaza. It has a lot of water slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river that wraps arounds the whole thing.

When we get to the houses we will be staying in, we are blown away once again. There is a mansion for every sports team in your country. Our swimming mansion consists of two floors and a chef we can tell to make whatever we want. I got a room on the first floor because I wanted to be one of the first people to breakfast each morning, and let me tell you, the food he makes is outstanding. The first night we stayed he made Lobster and it was delicious.

The next few days, Ralph and I spent most of our time at the water park but whenever we get hungry we go to the plaza or our chef to pick up something to eat. We mainly go to our chef to eat at dinner and breakfast. We have training sessions from 8-9am and 12-1pm. We don’t have too long sessions because they don’t want to wear us out, just to keep us in shape and form.

The coolest thing about being next to the Plaza is that you see fellow Olympians from our own team and from the others. The most memorable moment I had in the Plaza was seeing Usain Bolt next to a New York Pizzaria. It all happened after laying in the lazy river for the morning and then we got hungry and went to the Plaza. We weren’t sure where we were going to eat but when we saw him, we definitely knew where we would eat. We walked over to him with our pizzas and asked if we could take a quick picture with him. He was really nice about it and even signed autographs for us. We talked to him for a while but then moved on.

Finally, it was competition day. We started off eating cinnamon rolls from the chef and they were delicious. Then we proceeded to hop in the car and drive to the pool. We got there 3 hours early but that is how long you need to be there if you want to warm up properly. I stretched for about 30 minutes because on competition days I’m not taking any chances of being too stiff. Then, I ran a quarter of a mile on treadmill next to the pool in 3 minutes. After that, I did a little aerobics and rested until there was only an hour and a half before my start time. At this point, the crowds were starting to pile in to the dome. Then, I warmed up again by running a half a mile and stretching again until there was 45 minutes left. I then went to the pool in the back of the dome (concealed from the audience) where I proceeded to lightly swim laps to get my swimming muscles ready. With 15 minutes left, I went out to the front to get ready for the calling and the race.

Once again, they called my name but this time, I was on a much bigger team. I completely zoned in from then on. I almost forgot to listen for the starting bell until he said to get into your ready positions. “On your mark, get set, GO”! I never swam so fast in my life. All I could feel was the rushing water going along my ribs and over my back. Half way, I thought, as I flip, kick and spin. I wasn’t sore this time, too focused to be sore, only concentrating on the finish line. I took the last few strokes and beat my hand into the wall. I looked up at the scoreboard. There was less time for me to wait for other swimmers than back at home. Once again, I can’t believe my eyes. First place, this time I came out on top.