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U.S. OLYMPIC SWIM TRIALSJuly 2, 2016Anthony ErvinOmaha, Nebraska Q. You mentioned yesterday that you had some unfinished business. What was that? ANTHONY ERVIN: I don't know. I'll let you know when I finish it. Q. How much are you enjoying this more than 2000? ANTHONY ERVIN: That's so long ago. My perspective on life and the things I valued were so vague and very limited in my understanding of myself and the world, so just a very, very different experience. With age comes wisdom and with wisdom comes knowing one's self, and with knowing one's self can change this thing called life (Away from mic.) Q. You seem more a lot more content than back in your younger days. Is that a fair assessment? ANTHONY ERVIN: I don't know. Were you there? Did you see it? Q. I was there, man. ANTHONY ERVIN: Did I seem discontent? Q. I was the one asking questions about your heritage back in 2000. ANTHONY ERVIN: Oh, yes, asking the guy (Away from mic.) Social constructs! Q. Seriously, are you -- ANTHONY ERVIN: I can barely talk. Q. You seem to have come to grips with a lot of things that maybe you didn't 16 years ago. ANTHONY ERVIN: For sure. I don't take nearly as much of that personally as I do other things. It's a wealth of knowledge to understand, and to (Away from mic.) And I just try to navigate those courses a little bit, contain them, redirect them, that suits me. That's my liberty. Q. Beside the wisdom that you have, you've gained over the years, what do you think you're doing swim-wise or physically that are helping you to truck into the Olympics at 35? ANTHONY ERVIN: You know, it really became about what I wanted to do, what I wanted to believe in. It wasn't like I was using massive amounts of high technology; if anything it was, like, "Rocky IV," you know, where goes out and runs in the Siberian woods in the snow, same thing. I was running in the mountains, running on the beach. We were doing workouts on the beach, I was lifting in my friend's garage. I was in many, many different pools exercising, working on different techniques, trying some that were helpful for one thing and not as good for others, and it just became this amalgamation of different kind of training and utility of the body that got me to here. Q. In most of the events the young guns have really been challenging everybody. It seems like in the sprints you and Nathan and Cullen are able to keep them at least at bay. How are you guys able to do that? What is it about your events and what is it about the three of you? ANTHONY ERVIN: Oh, well, for one, Cullen has been incredible. He came out to SwimMAC in Charlotte, and I've been going there for the holidays the last four years, and he's always been super nice and helpful, and this year (Away from mic.) I learned a lot from him. His view, how he approaches legacy and how he approaches trying to be his best, not to mention the guy has the most wicked start in the game, and I really was looking at that and that was tremendously helpful to me. Q. What did you do well in that race, Anthony? ANTHONY ERVIN: Oh, I don't know, I was just trying not to -- I was just building together the details across this entire meet, really just wanting to feel good and less stressed about it with regard to some of the other races I did here. Just let it all happen, had a good start, not great, good breakout, not do anything that no one has ever seen before and hit that stride, be on top of the water. Q. No breaths, right? ANTHONY ERVIN: No breath. Q. Were you always committed since 2012 the whole time to come back 2016? ANTHONY ERVIN: You mean after London? Q. Yeah. ANTHONY ERVIN: Yeah, I felt that after London I was very raw, that there was still a lot to learn, and I was enjoying the experience. There wasn't this distant elimination that I felt from being on top of the world the first time. It was a misconception on my own part. Q. From 2000? ANTHONY ERVIN: Yeah. So I didn't have that in 2012. I came away feeling I'm so raw, I can really enjoy myself with this and see how much more potential I have, even as an aging athlete. Q. Have you thought beyond the 2016 Games? ANTHONY ERVIN: Yeah. Q. Swimming or moving on with life? ANTHONY ERVIN: You know, it seems to be one of the themes of this meet with us elder statesmen! We're never going to be completely done with swimming, whether we try to measure up in this kind of way, whether we tell ourselves that we're going for broke, that will probably fade, but swimming will always be in me. I will always be swimming, and I hope I'm in Trials next time and hope I make finals in 2024. I hope I make the cut in 2030 -- who knows, maybe at that point I'll be ready to just emcee the event. Q. Does your reaching your potential have anything to do with the medals? Or times? ANTHONY ERVIN: I think more along the lines of time but medals are great, medals are valuable. They weigh a lot and people put a lot of value in them. To have one hanging. So I think that's -- to have one hanging around my neck. (Away from mic.) Q. (No microphone.) ANTHONY ERVIN: What is it, a 20.8? Q. 20.9, I think? ANTHONY ERVIN: Somebody can do it. Somebody can do it. Q. If you didn't take such a long break would you be able to come back and do what you're doing? Absolutely is that break is helping you what you're doing now? ANTHONY ERVIN: Who can say, man? I can only assume that my life that has come along thus far and has led me exactly to the point where I am now, in front of this mic and all of you wonderful people who are going to write nice things about me, and I have nothing else to go on, you know? This is the one quantum universe that was dealt to me, so I have to accept it. Q. (No microphone.) ANTHONY ERVIN: Of this? Or life? Q. No, life. ANTHONY ERVIN: Of life? Man. Q. Be happy in swimming or outside of swimming? ANTHONY ERVIN: Well, you know on the one hand I try to think this is very -- it's just swimming, just the mechanics of the stroke and dealing with the water, jumping off of a block, and that's all it is. It doesn't need to be any more than that. But at the same time, as it goes out to the people who view it and find meaning beyond that -- I was just trying to -- this is almost like that Primordial race that begins all like the race for little A in foreign territory! You know? And when you think about it, it's about the next generation, it's about children. I remember watching the Olympics with my family, watching the Olympic dream and wanting to get here myself one day, and in the mind of a child I have to imagine that he or she who wins the race finds a new life, it's a new life that opens up to them. The same way as the one who gets to the prize in that Primordial race, a new life begins. How about that philosophy! Q. Thanks for the lesson. ANTHONY ERVIN: Yeah. Q. It's pretty good for the mixed zone, Anthony. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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