Q: What’s your favorite dinner?

A: Uhm, vegan chicken fettuccine because I’m vegan and I really like chicken fettuccine.

Q: Why’d you choose to be vegan? Is that a lifestyle choice?

A: I do it because meat just doesn’t make me feel good, and we have a corrupt animal system going on, and I just don’t like eating it.

Q: What is your dream car?

A: A Chevy Bolt. My mom got one, and it’s electric, and so, y’know, I don’t need to feel guilty about using fuel.

Q: How long have you been swimming?

A: I have been swimming for about 10 years now.

Q: How long have you been professionally swimming?

A: I have been doing USA Club Swimming since I was about 6, so 10 years. And then I have been doing HS Swim for 3 years now.

Q: How do you manage a school-athletic balance?

A: It’s really hard too. I Just try the best I can. Sometimes, you have to just do it. During High School Swim, I have upwards up [to] 9-10 practices a week, a lot of which are [at] 5am. I also have a lot of AP classes to deal with, so it can be really hard. Sometimes I just don’t get it done and have to do it during class or ask my teachers if I can turn it in late, which most of them are pretty lenient about that. They understand being a student athlete is a struggle sometimes.

Q: What are the events you do?

A: I do the 500 free, the 800/1000 free, and the mile.

Q: What is your fastest lap while swimming?

A: My 25 [meter] is just going straight down the pool was an eleven second, but that was from a dive. Then my fastest 50 free in a competition is maybe a 26 [second].

Q: What is your fastest mile?

A: 17 minutes and 52 seconds.

Q: What do you eat before going to the mile or any sort of swim, because they tell you not to swim right after eating?

A: You’re kinda supposed to eat, or atleast drink water, or some kind of liquid because I think it’s kinda dangerous to go in on a completely empty stomach. But I try not to eat a big meal or something too heavy before. Maybe not too much water because it’s a lot of flip turns, so you can feel kinda sick if you drink too much before racing.

Q: What’s your favorite swim/stroke?

A: Freestyle. 

Q: What’s the morning to night routine like?

A: If I’m going to club practice, I wake up at 4am, and if I am going to High School Practice, I wake up at 4:30am. Then I go to practice and swim for about 2 hours. Practice starts at 5 or 5:30am. It depends on Club or High School. I’ll go until about 7-7:30am, Then I’ll shower and get changed and everything. Get my school bag and go to class until 3:30pm. Then if its High School swim, I go straight to the pool and get changed, and get back in the water. That’s if it’s a double, which is 2 practices in a row. And we’ll swim til 3:45 to 5:45, but if it’s a club swim I’ll go home first and then drive back over to my club pool from 4:30 to 6:30. And then I go home and eat dinner, and then I have a lot of homework on most days so I’ll stay up doing homework until like 10:30 sometimes 11, and then I finally just go to sleep and do it all the next day.

Q: What do weekends look like?

A: A little bit, yeah, we have practices a lot later, so from 7 to 9, then I’ll go home and catch up with homework, and hang out with friends if they want to. Unless it’s a meet, because normally I have meets on weekends.