Wilton, Fairfield Prep’s Nolan swims to gold
Richard Nolan climbed out of the pool Thursday night and onto the bulkhead for the award presentation at the Big East swimming and diving championships. Each place was designated to stand socially distanced for a photograph.
As he stepped off the bulkhead at SPIRE Institute in Ohio, the Villanova freshman from Wilton and Fairfield Prep was asked if he’d do a quick interview for the Big East broadcast. Nolan, who won the 200 individual medley, awaited the finish of the women’s 50 freestyle, put on the headset and looked into a camera affixed to a tripod.
This is life in the COVID world. And so is Nolan’s mask, one with the school’s easily identifiable logo. Fewer than 10 minutes after his own race, that V rose and fell with each of his heavy breaths.
“I never expected it, I was swimming along, got to the freestyle leg, saw the swimmers next to me and I’m thinking, ‘ I’ve got a shot at this,’ ” Nolan said early Saturday afternoon. “I just put my head down to the finish. Then I looked up.”
His teammates were shouting. The board showed he was first with a time of 1: 49.51.
Richard Nolan said he loves swimming and putting a smile on people’s faces. In a 56- second interview with John Fanta of the Big East, he showed how much he loves it.
In the moment when they were chitchatting, Fanta had
Jacob deGrom strikes out 14, but Mets fall to say, “We’re not live yet. Save some for the interview.”
He was thinking about his family in the U. S. and Ireland cheering for him. His friends in Connecticut and at Villanova and, of course, his teammates.
“I just had this crazy feeling,” he said. “It’s hard to explain. All the energy just came out in the interview. I was so jacked up.”
When they did begin, Nolan waved to the camera. Clapping his hands, arms flapping, body rocking, he talked about how awesome it