All About Elizabeth Beisel

The fourteen-year-old U.S. National team swimmer lets you in on her secrets in—and out—of the pool! Check it out!

How do you feel right before a race?

I feel really nervous. I get butterflies because I don’t want anything to go wrong. You want to be perfect and that gets your adrenaline rushing.

You can’t possibly race well every time, so how do you handle a bad race?

After each race I go talk to my coach. [Coaches] talk to you about what was good or bad. When you perform badly, you get really down and don’t feel like racing again.

What do you do to unwind when you get really stressed out?

I like to take a lot of naps. Sleeping, watching TV…those things take my mind off of swimming until I get into the pool area.

Do your classmates treat you differently because of your athletic success?

Everybody says, “Oh, it’s Elizabeth Beisel. She’s the Olympian.” They all know me as the “swimmer girl.” It can be annoying but, most of the time, it’s really nice. Before I leave for a meet they all say, “Good luck.”

What is your most embarrassing moment?

One time at a swim meet when I was younger, I really had to go to the bathroom. Before I could go they called my heat and I got on the starting blocks. When I got up there for the race, I just peed all over the blocks! It was so embarrassing because I was dry and everyone could tell!

What are some of the misconceptions about competitive swimmers?

After you come home from a meet, everyone at school always asks, “Did you win the meet?” But that’s not really how it works—you win your event. I wish people understood that. Also, people will say, “Wow! Are you going to the Junior Olympics?” And I’m like, “No…the real, big ones. Like, the Olympics.”

Do you ever feel like your non-swimmer friends just don’t understand all you have to go through?

They have no idea! There are days when I have to get up at 4:45 a.m. because I have swim practice before school, and then I go back after school to practice more. They think that when they have soccer practice three times a week for an hour that’s “dreadful.” I’m like, “Yeah, join the swim team!”

Is it hard to stay close to your school friends?

I’m always with my swimming friends at the pool, training every day, so it’s easy to stay close. Some of my other friends at school don’t have the same classes and I can’t see them as much.

Do you ever get jealous of other swimmers or your teammates?

I tell myself it’s not a big deal [if I don’t win]. It’s just one race and I will swim it 100 more times!

What traits do you think are important in a best friend?

Trust. If you can’t trust them, they aren’t good friends. They need to be funny, not dull. Someone you can tell anything to and who supports you a lot—who will be there for you. I have a couple of close friends like that!

Find out more about star swimmer Elizabeth in the June/July issue of Discovery Girls, on newsstands now!