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U.S. OLYMPIC SWIM TRIALS

June 27, 2016

Kelsi Worrell

Omaha, Nebraska

THE MODERATOR: We will go ahead and get started with Kelsi.

Q. (No microphone.)
KELSI WORRELL: Um, I think I'm finally having a chance to be really healthy and strong. It's just built from short course season into long course and year after year being at Louisville and finally was able to put together a solid race that we've really worked hard for and trained for.

Q. For you it's possible to beat Sarah SjÃ¶strÃ¶m? How do you -- for a Rio final?
KELSI WORRELL: I haven't had a chance to meet Sarah yet, so I'm looking forward to that. I really admire her a lot and studied her butterfly, so it's going to be a lot of fun with her and the other world-class flyers. So hopefully can make some new friends and put a good race together.

Q. Now that you've had some time to let it sink in, how does it feel?
KELSI WORRELL: I'm really tired now! My adrenaline is starting to come down a little bit. In doping I was like, whew! I don't know if everything has really sunk in, but I'm really excited and I have this, like, huge relief off my shoulders. I think I was really able to enjoy it all and that was my goal, but I do feel really relieved.

Q. How has Arthur's coaching helped you in the butterfly? There has been a real progress the last couple years from you.
KELSI WORRELL: Really grateful for Arthur and all of our coaching staff. I think we have one of the best in the country, and I have a really great relationship with all of them, and I'm really glad that I'm able to work with all of them. I think our program, we're able to be really personalized with each person, so sometimes I'm sprint, sometimes I'm mid, and we've been able to work really well together.

Whenever I get stressed, Arthur is able to calm me down, and I look up to him as a father figure, too, so Louisville was definitely the right choice for me, and I'm glad that God put me there.

Q. Kelsi, you and Andrea both had huge nights. I saw you guys walking in together, and you obviously had that moment and she had hers getting into the 100 Breast final. What was it like to see her do that right after you did and that moment when you guys reunited afterwards?
KELSI WORRELL: Yeah, Andrea is my roommate, and my co-captain this past year. And I've seen her work incredibly hard. I was able to watch her 100 Breaststroke. She told me she wasn't going to watch mine, because then she would get too emotional before hers. Just embracing her after her race was just super emotional, and I'm just so proud of her and so pumped to watch her tomorrow, because she deserves it. She has earned that spot in that final.

Q. Personally for you have the emotions started to ebb a little bit? Understandably it was a powerful moment there when you touched the wall.
KELSI WORRELL: Yeah, even beforehand it was emotional. My chaplain from school called me, left me a voicemail praying over me and my race, and I really had to try to hold it together while listening to that. I'm just so support, and seeing our team just cheering for me and my family right there in the front row, and the team cheer section. I'm grateful for that.

And then after, too, I wasn't expecting to touch first, so that was emotional hearing that, and then seeing my time on the board, too. Dream come true.

Q. Did you think at all about Dana during the course of the race or was it just Kelsi Worrell between the lines?
KELSI WORRELL: I really can't see much at all except on my turn, and she was on my other side, so I really didn't see where she was, so I just tried to do my own race. My little brother told me that, and so that was what I tried to do.

Q. Kelsi, you mentioned a couple times during the Mixed Zone about God and your faith. Can you talk a little bit about what role that has in your life and in your swimming?
KELSI WORRELL: I would love to. My faith is so important to me, and I just so love how God works at meets and how he shows up in that way. My whole theme for this meet is just that it is well with my soul, and I fell asleep listening to that hymn in my mind last night and just knowing regardless of what happens I know that I'm a daughter of God and I just -- my prayer is that I can reflect his glory this whole meet and now heading into Rio just be a light for him. I really feel like swimming has been a gift, and I just want to use that and spread -- spread Jesus.

Q. Kelsi, obviously this isn't it. It's a long meet, still. I think you're entered in three more events. What's the plan going forward? How do you let this set in but still refocus for those other events?
KELSI WORRELL: I think now it's just like a weight off my shoulders. I'm pretty pumped for my freestyle races. I feel like I have a lot of room to improve there, and then I've got to put a good race together in the 2 Fly. Let's not reenact NCAAs this year, and just have fun, too, and now I feel like in can just enjoy the meet even more.

THE MODERATOR: Kelsi, I know you come from a family of six kids who are swimmers, just tell us about that and what the sport has meant to your family.

KELSI WORRELL: I'm the oldest of six kids. My youngest sister is 6. She will be 7 in a couple weeks. It's just so fun. We're all swimmers, and my next sister down, Taylor, she swam the 400 today. Wasn't her best race, but I think she still enjoyed it, and just so loving having her here. Got to swim our last NCAAs with her, too, and just so proud of her and her swimming and the witness that she is, too, and I love just the way that my parents have supported us through it all and never tried to coach us, just loved us through -- through everything.

Unfortunately my youngest siblings had to be distributed across the country because -- so my parents could be here, and they're not here, but just love 'em a lot and maybe -- they will be here one day, too.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Kelsi.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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