VANDENBERG ON A MISSION TO INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION
Olympic Bronze medallist in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror
Olympic Bronze medallist Kim Vandenberg was in Sri Lanka recently to conduct a series of Swim Clinics along with New York-based coach and USA swimming official Dhammika Withanachchi. Vandenberg is also a Pan American Games, U.S. National Championships and World Championships medallist and the Daily Mirror got a chance to chat with her in spite of her busy schedule in Sri Lanka on her journey in the sport of swimming and on the various swim clinics she conducts the world over.
Q When did you first start swimming?
I grew up in Northern California and we had a backyard pool. It was pretty small but my older brother, my younger brother and I would spend hours racing each other and making up games so that’s when that competitive spirit kicked in. So all of the siblings, the four of us in total, (my younger sister was a little too young to race us, but she was there)joined a local country club team when I was eight so I’ve been racing competitively for 26 years.
Q What was your first big race?
When I was young, for me, the big race was the end of summer championship league where our town and the local towns would come together and it felt like the Olympics for me when I was nine, 10, 11 and then once I was 12, I joined a year round programme so I started swimming year round instead of just the summers. That’s kind of what took me to that next level where I was racing around the country and I got to travel to the
I grew up in Northern California and we had a backyard pool. It was pretty small but my older brother, my younger brother and I would spend hours racing each other and making up games so that’s when that competitive spirit kicked in
Junior National and National Championships.
Q Obviously the Olympics would have been your biggest race – take us through your journey
My first Olympic trial was definitely the biggest race of my life. I was 16 years old and a sophomore in High School (it was my second year in High School) and I was really terrified, it was really scary for me to be that young racing all these Olympians who were World Record Holders and American Record Holders.i didn’t really swim very fast and didn’t make the team that time. However, it was a learning experience because I knew what I had to do to try to make the team next time. And the next time I was a sophomore again at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). I ended up going down to Los Angeles to study. I had a scholarship and we started training harder – I was doing a lot more dry land which swimmers call ‘activities not in the pool’, we were doing weight lifting, a lot of running around the perimeter at the school, yoga and dance and I was very tired all the time, but it helped me build my strength and endurance. I was also getting more experience collegiately racing all the girls within the US and at my second Olympic trials I had a little more confidence and made the final heat of the championship – that’s where they select the Olympic team. They take thetop Two and I missed outbecause I got placed fifth. I missed the team again but this time I was at the final heat and I was only three spots away and I was racing Olympians – the girls who made the team were in my heat. This was somewhat the turning point for me because that was when I realised I was capable of racing girls who are Olympians or maybe four more years on I could do it.after that I started seeing a sports psychologist to talk about what was happening in my head before I was competing at that level and how to balance the nerves. Thereafter I started working with a nutritionist and I had to maintain a food journal and write down what I was eating and when I was eating to figure out improvements required for my training. I was also stretching more, sleeping more and I kind of took a bigger perspective on how I can be a better swimmer. What I needed was to eat healthy, sleep more, stretch more and change my thoughts and I started doing that and I saw an immediate impact on my training – I had a lot of energy and I was swimming faster in workouts.i started swimming faster in competition and won Nationals and made it to the National Team. Then I went to the World Championships in Australia (2007) and I raced the World Record Holder at the time who was an Australian. I got a silver medal and at the time I was second in the world in my race and it gave me more experience internationally and confidence in my ability and I finally made the team on my third try and made it in the 200m Freestylerelay.we came home with a Bronze Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
My first Olympic trial was definitely the biggest race of my life. I was 16 years old and a sophomore in High School (it was my second year in High School) and I was really terrified, it was really scary for me to be that young racing all these Olympians who were World Record Holders and American Record Holders Q What is your pet event?
I was swimming freestyle and butterfly, but what’s interesting about that experience is that I made the team in the Freestyle Relay but I just missed the team in the 200m Butterfly – They take Top Two individually and they take Topsix for the relay and I got fifth in the relay so I made the team for freestyle. I got third in the butterfly and just missed my favourite event, it was bittersweet.we performed well in the 200m Freestyle Relay, made the final heat at the Olympics and got a Bronze medal. Afterwards I didn’t stop swimming, I moved to Europe where I trained in France and Italy – mostly in France. I took on a European tour of competitions in Sweden and Amsterdam.
Q Was there a difference in the training in the US and Europe?
Yes. I had always wanted to study abroad because at UCLA – usually during your fifth year you have the opportunity to go abroad for six months and I always wanted to do that and instead of doing that I trained for the Olympics which was a hard decision to make because you never know if you are going to make the Olympic team. I decided I could always go to Europe later on in my life because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to stay in California and train.
After the games I met all these international swimmers and coaches and they suggested I come to Italy and train with them. So I started training with an international group of Serbians, Italians and Americans – it was a mix of different experiences so we were really learning from each other from different techniques to different drills, everything was different and it really opened my eyes to see that you could still perform well but it doesn’t have to be in a box – I was training outside of the box.
Q What are your other achievements in the sport?
I won two Gold Medals at the 2011 Pan American Games for in the 200m Butterfly and the 4x200m Freestyle Relay.i’ve also won National Championships in the US and have a French National Title.
Q Have you since retired from competitive swimming?
No. I still compete locally in New York – I represent the New York Athletic Club. From California I moved to New York and there’s a whole team of us and everyone on my team raced in college and some of them have been on the National Team so we’re a pretty elite group in New York and we train together. It’s definitely a lot less training – I train maybe four times a week in the water and then I do yoga and I’m still active and fit but I’m still not anywhere near where I was 10 years ago when I was training full time. I race a lot of younger kids and it’s fun because they ask me questions, like ‘How do you do a 200m Fly’ so I kind of mentor these younger girls that I teach.
Q Is that how you progressed into swim training programmes?
One of my sponsors, 10 years ago, was Mutual of Omaha Breakout Swim Clinics, we had a team of Olympians that would travel around the United States and give motivational talks to share with the kids our swim stories and how we’re training for the Olympics and I’ve been doing that now for almost 12 years within the US but after the Olympic Games, I started making more connections abroad and I started doing swim clinics and motivational talks in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia so now
It has been really incredible and it’s been so nice to work with all these younger kids who are so respectful. Everyone’s so quiet – at the beginning they’re very shy and I’m used to having super loud kids where I have to tell them to stop talking but here the kids are very quiet, receptive, respectful and very eager to learn
it’s become this world tour of Swim Clinics and speaking engagements and working with youth.
Q How has your experience in Sri Lanka been?
It has been really incredible and it’s been so nice to work with all these younger kids who are so respectful. Everyone’s so quiet – at the beginning they’re very shy and I’m used to having super loud kids where I have to tell them to stop talking but here the kids are very quiet, receptive, respectful and very eager to learn.
We don’t speak the same language so Dominic (Dhammikawithanachchi) translates a lot of it andit’s really fun to still connect with them even though we don’t understand each other.
Some of the kids would start speaking to me and then I reply in English and then I show them and demonstrate and so we end up communicating with sport. We spend hours with the kids and I was able to share my story of being an Olympian. We took pictures with the kids and they got a chance to put on my Olympic medal – it’s been really inspirational. Even with a three-hour clinic we see a difference in the kids, their energies, they’re so excited and then their strokes improve which mean they’re learning.
Q Where do you see Sri Lanka swimming?
Well I think it’s great that we are doing these swim clinics because it gives them new exposure and new insight into what’s possible so a lot of the kids are very motivated and focussed and there’s so much potential.
We worked alongside the coaches too where we taught them new drills. Maybe that’s going to shift things and the kids are going to be able to keep training and work on the techniques every-day. I know some of the kids at the Foundation of Goodness have big plans to improve to the next level and so who knows what’s going to happen in the next couple of years, but I think the future holds nothing but good things.
I had always wanted to study abroad because at UCLA – usually during your fifth year you have the opportunity to go abroad for six months and I always wanted to do that and instead of doing that I trained for the Olympics which was a hard decision to make because you never know if you are going to make the Olympic team Qwhat area/areas need improving?
Technique.
When I was training – for 10 years (between the ages of eight to 18), my coaches focussed on my technique. It was an aspect that my coaches really drilled into me so that’s what I teach – the right technique because once you have the right technique you save energy and you are more efficient which builds confidence because you move through the water easier and faster.
I’ve seen that happen with the kids that I’ve worked with and once we just tweak the small details they end up feeling more confident – they’ll get out of the pool smiling and walk back to the blocks with more confidence. It’s been amazing and fun to see them gain more confidence out of just three hours of working with them.
Q Would you look into swim clinics on a more frequent basis here in Sri Lanka?
Dominic and I have been potentially talking about doing more of these in the years to come because this is the first time that we’ve done this. Dom and I work together in New York and we met in New York and I’ve done similar swim programmes and a year ago he suggested I should come to Sri Lanka and we could maybe do this event and it sounded really incredible. I said yes and maybe next year and the years to come we’ll bring other Olympians from different backgrounds or maybe even different countries – it is going to be a global mission to have all of our experience to inspire the next generation of children.