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PHILLIPS 66 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPSAugust 5, 2014Allison SchmittIRVINE, CALIFORNIA ALLISON SCHMITT: Thank you for being here. I am excited to race this summer. I know a lot of questions may be based on last summer when I had a rough time and failed to make the world team, but I have come back stronger, took a break after that, came back with Bob in January, or December, and I feel stronger than I have been. I'm excited to race. Q. Your personality has been described as sunny side up. BOB BOWMAN: It was a little over hard during that period. ALLISON SCHMITT: A little scrambled. Q. How scrambled was it? ALLISON SCHMITT: I had quite a few difficult days, and I'm lucky to have the supportive from Bob, from my teammates, from my family and friends, and that definitely helped me through that. I try to keep positive through that and have a smile. A lot of times the smile was forced, but it really helped having the support and the team behind my back. Q. Bob, what changes do you see? BOB BOWMAN: A little history, right? So Allison is like the most happy person I've ever met in my entire life. Prior to last year there were only two times that I'd ever seen her not happy, and it was like the worst day ever for about 24 hours. So I had seen her do it a couple times. I think she really came through this really well, and it was a growth experience. It really underlined something that I think in USA Swimming we need to do better, and that is help prepare people for what happens after your Olympic success. We're all focused on that day where she swims for the medal and she won the medal and broke the record and couldn't have done anything better, and then all of a sudden it's over and she's living a new life. You go and everybody knows who you are everywhere you go in Athens, Georgia, particularly. So it was like a complete change for her, and I think it's a big difference, right? So in the future we're going to try to help the younger guys do better at that. Q. Allison, you missed it last year and Missy comes in and does so well, and now that's one of the most hyped up races this week. How excited do you get and how will you compete with Missy and Katie? ALLISON SCHMITT: It's great to have that depth, and all three of us swim the same events. We all swim a little differently. I've been with Bob for the past seven, eight years, for a while now, so he's prepared me well, so I'm just go out, swim my own race, have fun, but like I said, it's great to have that depth in America, especially for the relays. Q. The 400s, are you going to swim that this week? ALLISON SCHMITT: Yeah, I'm so excited for that race, and when I decided after my little break this past summer that I still want to swim, that's an event that I still want to swim and still have goals in, so excited to keep training for that. Q. Bob described you as the most happy person. What's it like when you and Missy are together? BOB BOWMAN: That's like a double dose. Maybe Missy is up there. That's a tie. I should have thought about that. ALLISON SCHMITT: I mean, I just like to be happy. I like to keep the mood light, and I love to laugh. Q. Is she a kindred spirit in the sense that she's very upbeat and positive? BOB BOWMAN: Oh, for sure. ALLISON SCHMITT: Oh, most definitely, yes. BOB BOWMAN: The only danger of that is when you're kind of floating on this cloud of happiness, somebody has to bring you back down to focus on a couple things, but I'm happy to do it. Q. Allison, talk about you're in Georgia and the Grand Prixes and a lot of the competitors are there but not everyone is together like they are this week where everyone from Team USA is all together competing against each other. Talk a little bit about Team USA and the camaraderie and the team spirit. ALLISON SCHMITT: All coming to Nationals, I think that's a great way to race and see the best swimmers in America get ready for the international level. I think that Nationals is one of the most hyped‑up meets, and everyone is cheering for the U.S., so it's always exciting to hear the random people cheering for you and the fans. It's great. Q. Having Michael Phelps back, talk about that. ALLISON SCHMITT: That was the second question I was waiting for. He's been so laid back, so happy. I'll walk into practice, and just his presence, whether it be on the pool deck or in the pool, it's great to have him back and see him so happy around the pool. I mean, it makes me smile to see how happy he is and how passionate he is about the sport, and even after being so successful, taking his break, retiring, and then deciding that he still has more goals to accomplish is awesome, and it's great for the sport for him to be back, too. Q. Do you get any little tips or advice from him? ALLISON SCHMITT: Yeah, he actually always has helped me ever since I've been swimming with him, like I said, for seven or eight years, and even to this day, even when he's on the pool deck and we're finishing some distance, just the little words, like come on, you've got this, only three more or something, it's like, okay, if you believe I can do this and I know that you've already done this, that will help me through the rest of the set. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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