KARINE THOMAS
Q How did you get into the sport?
A I actually got into synchronized swimming after watching the Olympics in 1996, the Atlanta Olympics. I saw synchronized swimming on TV and just thought it was the absolute coolest thing in the world and I needed to try.
Q What is your biggest strength as an athlete? A I think one of my strengths as an athlete is perseverance. I’ve gone through a lot and I’ve always come out the end a better athlete and a better person.
Q Is there an example?
A I’ve overcome many things, but definitely getting cut from the team a year out before the 2008 Olympics was a big one. I’ve had different setbacks, different injuries, that I’ve had to overcome and definitely come out a better athlete every time.
Q Your grandmother, I read, was also a synchronized swimmer in the 1940s and 1950s. How good was she and did that inspire you at all?
A So, my grandmother was a synchronized swimmer — or “a synchronized swimmer in the 1940s” (laughs). It was a different sport back then. She’s always loved the water, my whole family has been in the water forever, so I think that’s where I got my inspiration from. I was a water baby. I’ve always been in the pool. So that’s where my love for the pool came from. Synchro is a different sport than it was in the 1940s and ’50s, but she always loved to watch me perform and she was definitely a good motivation for me, as well.
Q You’re the lone swimmer left from London. How does that affect your role on the team?
A After London, when my team retired, my decision to stay was really to do things differently . ... I’ve had a really great role and an amazing time being the vet on the team. I’m able to share my stories, I love to be a storyteller, that’s what I do, I really like to do that, so I think through my experiences they’re able to learn different things, as well.