Photos: My daughter with her relay team celebrating at the Belmont Olympic Pool on the sand in Long Beach. This historic and treasured pool, opened in 1968 and was demolished in 2014.
I heard the phrase “Being a swimmer is something I do, it’s not who I am,” in an interview by Lydia Jacoby, gold medalist in the Tokyo Olympics and the first Olympic qualifier in swimming from Alaska.
Jacoby missed a spot on the Olympic team at Trials this year by .27 of a second. As heartbreaking as that may be, I love her statement that swimming is something that she does. It’s not her whole identity.
I believe many people, not only athletes, suffer when their identity is tied to their accomplishments, careers or relationships and lose WHO they are inside.
Two other stories from Olympic Trials 2024: Caeleb Dressel and Simone Manuel.
Both were phenoms as kids and reached pinnacle heights in swimming — in college and the world stage. Dressel is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist and holds world records in the 100 meter butterfly (long course and short course), 50 meter freestyle (short course), and 100 meter individual medley (short course).
Simone Manuel swam at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won two gold and two silver medals. She won the 100-meter freestyle, in a tie with Penny Oleksiak of Canada, and became the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming and set an Olympic record and an American record. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won a bronze medal as the anchor of the American 4×100-meter freestyle relay team.
They both quit swimming out of the blue for health reasons. Dressel shocked the swimming world when he left the World Championships in 2022. Eventually, he opened up about depression. Manuel was diagnosed with burnout or overtraining syndrome.
Maybe they needed a break from being swimmers to find out who they were.
The Comeback Kids — Olympic Trials 2024
The 22,000 spectators went wild when both Manuel and Dressel earned spots on the U.S. Olympic Team after taking time off — and then began training to make the 2024 Olympic Team. Manuel made the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. Dressel made the 4 x 100 free relay and came in first in the 50 free and 100 fly.
Simone Manuel and Caeleb Dressel.
UPDATE: Simone Manuel won the 50 Free last night and now has an individual event as well as the 4 x 100 relay!!!!
What are your thoughts about swimming is something someone does, it’s not who they are?
What other examples can you share where someone loses their identity to something they are doing, but not who they are?
I believe many people, not only athletes, suffer when their identity is tied to their accomplishments, careers or relationships and lose WHO they are inside.
Hear, hear. I do things, but I am me at heart, doing things.
It’s easy to get tied up and believe we are what we do. Glad to hear you’re grounded. Of course, you come across that way.
This is a big conundrum and challenge for athletes “post sport”. One of my dear advisors in grad school wrote his dissertation on the psychological challenges athletes face when they leave their beloved sports and you’re right on the money. It can be a massive identify shift and a delicate transition for athletes. 💕
That is so interesting to hear about your advisor’s dissertation. Michael Phelps went through depression as well as other Olympic athletes. One of my daughter’s good friends committed suicide after his swim career ended.
Oh my. I’m so sorry to hear that. Athletes give so much. ❤️
It was devastating for my daughter as well as everyone he knew. I can’t imagine his parents.
Yes, yes, yes. Oh my. 😔
🥲
I can see how it becomes easier and easier to get lost in what you do and allow whatever that is to take over. I don’t think it helps in any way to have people pushing you either from the time you are young both from within your circle but also social pressure. Society rewards status in major ways- not IMO necessarily a good thing.
I agree with you. I think Caleleb and Simone had so much pressure on them. I’m happy they found peace and then continued swimming on their own terms. Caeleb bought a farm, has a family and that grounds him.
I love the way you cover sports, Elizabeth! You are so good at highlighting the human elements in the rise and fall of performance. Congrats to Manuel and Dressel. And also to you. I’d guess you might say that being a writer is something you do and not who you are — but your talent is apparent either way!
Thank you for the kind words! I’m humbled 😊
This is a fascinating topic! I thought about it often, still do 🙂 It seems like it’s easier for people to place a tag on folks, think about how many last names are really a profession (and not just Abbott, Miller, or Thatcher…). When you start a conversation with a new person, how quickly are you asked “and what do you do?” It seems like the professions we have play a huge portion in people’s identities, but that should only be a facet of who you are, not all that you are, shouldn’t it?
I agree. It should be just a portion of who people are, not their identity. It’s true people’s names were their occupations like Smith. That would be an interesting topic to explore.
“Do” vs. “Am” is such an important distinction. A different sport (running), but have you read Good for a Girl by Lauren Fleshman? It was a real eye-opener into women’s high-level amateur and professional competition.
I like how you expressed it so succinctly. “Do” vs. “Am.” I will look into “Good for a Girl.” Thanks for the suggestion.
I think when someone has a singularity of focus that they may tend to see what they do as their identity. When that goes away they struggle more than most. I’ve done so many things in my life, that just because I do things, I don’t identify as those things.
I think that’s it. For example, swimmers train from childhood through college 50 weeks a year. In high school it’s six days a week. It doesn’t leave time for much else except school.
Over the weekend i had a conversation with friends about having a purpose. One person immediately said that a job is purpose. I disagreed. Swimming is your purpose, but it’s not who you are, if that makes sense
Yes, it makes sense. We need a purpose, like being a parent. But it’s not totally who we are.