Erika Braun qualified for the 2012 Olympics Trials at age 40. She understands the pressure athletes are facing in Toyko right now.
it is a big day in the pool for Team USA and that brings with it more pressure for the big game. Tonight. We're talking with a local swimmer who can put this pressure into perspective. Erica Brown is known in the triangle and beyond as an intense competitor and record holder in the pool and Erica knows firsthand the physical and mental demands of training and of competing. She joins us live from her home in Raleigh. Erica described just how competitive swimming is these days, this olympics, it really feels like it could be anyone's night to win the gold. Yeah, absolutely. You know, swimming in particular is an extremely competitive sport. You know, the difference between making the team and staying home could be a hunt 1/100 of a second and you know, that swimmer competing against you and who have worked just as hard as you and you know, it just comes down to who could get their hand on the wall first. So, you know, can be exhilarating, but also devastating for for the person that, that just missed out. I love it the way you put that the hand on the wall first, because you've had experience at both ends of the spectrum, you made the Olympic trials at 16 and 40. How much better will you equipped to handle the pressure as an adult than a teenager? You know? Um I think it was, there was a huge difference because I was focusing on a goal that I had just, personally, you know, I was focused on just qualifying for the 53 as a 40 year old and had a goal, I put pressure on myself, but it wasn't something that it was something I wanted to do. So there weren't other people putting pressure on me, you know, it was, I didn't have to worry about letting, you know, my country down or my paid sponsors down. It was just a super fun journey and you know, I got to celebrate it with my friends and family, so a little bit different from area there. Yeah, certainly you do hold records though on the masters level and are still competitive. Is there extra pressure when you're defending a metal or record? Thinking about the Titmuss and Ledecky rivalry right now, did you feel like you had a target on your back? You know, my son journey kind of has continued to compete in masters swimming, where we compete in five year increments and you know, I don't really feel like there's a proverbial, you know, target on my back, master swimming is just a very supportive community and we have a lot of fun together. Um you know, I like to focus on trying to achieve a goal that I set out, and that's usually by looking at the times that have been achieved by others, so um I don't feel that necessarily as much, but you know, just try to have fun and enjoy the journey and time together with, you know, still being able to compete at that level is is very rewarding. Um you know, our olympic athletes are definitely in a different scenario, I'm sure you're going to be watching tonight as you watch these olympians, you've been in the pool, you know what this feels like, Do you ever put yourself there or do you find yourself just yelling for whoever you want to see when this? Yeah, I mean definitely you can you can empathize with what's going on. I mean, you know, every athlete experiences some kind of stress or anxiety before a competition and you know, that excitement can be good if you can channel it and you know, it helps with adrenaline and you know, giving you know, that excitement going, but you know the level of stress and the unbelievable expectations that our olympic athletes can be placed under can be unbearable and definitely are exacerbated under those situations. So um just to be supportive of anything that we can do as a community to uplift what they're doing and celebrate their successes, cheer them on even in their failures for what they have achieved is a huge, huge um support that we can do for them and it certainly does make such a difference. The fact that family and friends are not able to be with them, Erica Brown, thank you so much for your time tonight. My pleasure. Thank you.
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July 29, 2021 at 07:45AM
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'It can be exhilarating and also devastating': Triangle competitive swimmer speaks with WRAL - WRALSportsFan.com
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