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U.S. TEAM OLYMPIC TRIALS: SWIMMINGJune 26, 2012Brendan HansenOMAHA, NEBRASKA THE MODERATOR: We have Brendan Hansen here in the press conference room. Brendan won tonight the men's 100 Meter Breaststroke. Q. We saw such a wide range of emotions, happiness and delight from the folks that made the team, and with you it was harder to tell on the outside. How does everybody on the outside know when you're happy? BRENDAN HANSEN: When I'm happy? Q. Yeah. BRENDAN HANSEN: I think when you're trying to strive to make an Olympic Team, for me it's a relief. I was more relieved than I was happy. If you were going to see a smile out of me, it would probably be if I did something I didn't think I was going to do, and I kinda went in there and did what I thought I could do, so I was expecting that from myself. That being said, I think I was just relieved more than anything else. Q. Brendan, what do you call that pose you struck on the podium? BRENDAN HANSEN: Oh, man, I just was watching all these people coming up all the time. I watched Ryan do it and I was surprised he didn't do anything. And I was like, you know what? No one would expect me to do anything like this. I'm not the flashy guy on the team, I don't have a grill in my mouth, I don't have eight gold medals, and I told the guys at Texas that I was going to kneel down like I was a WWF wrestler, and "Hook 'em Horns," and apparently it got a good rise out of the crowd, and it was fun. That's the stuff I will remember for a long time and one of the reasons I'm back. I want to enjoy every minute of this. Q. Yesterday a lot of your colleagues spoke about how you were going to be the biggest threat in the pool. How did it feel going into this race with such a target on your back? BRENDAN HANSEN:  It's a complement, but if you come into a race like that and you have a target on your chest, that's just part of this deal. You know that going into it. You know you're doing things right if that's the case, and that's kinda how I approached it. Going into the final, being the only guy that broke a minute, I knew that everyone kind of thought I would be the guy to beat. I just went out there and swam my own race, and that was a big step for me and a huge confidence boost going into London. Q. Brendan, have you thought at all about your goals for the Olympics? Or did you focus on making the team and now do your thoughts turn toward that? How did you approach that? BRENDAN HANSEN: I think you got to take it step‑by‑step, and making the team was obviously the first goal. This is my third time, and it doesn't get any easier. I think that now, looking on to London, I think that I've learned over the last two Olympics that you don't have to move mountains to win a gold medal, you just got to put your hand on the wall first. I've talked to my coach, I said, "We have got to figure out what I need to do the next three weeks and be 100% behind it because I want to touch the wall first from here on out." Q.Congratulations. BRENDAN HANSEN: Thank you. Q. I don't want to microanalyze your body language too much, but you were shaking your head with what looked a little bit like disbelief. BRENDAN HANSEN: I think it's fun to see how many people are excited about the sport of swimming. It's cool to see 11,000 people screaming at you, you know? I didn't grow up playing the "fab four" sports: Baseball, football, basketball, and whatever, hockey. So for me, I just never really‑‑ I'm never going to get tired of swimming in front of that many people. I was just shaking my head becauseit wasn't disbelief; it was just to let 'em know that I appreciated them cheering me on all the time. I can't begin to tell you how many people have come up to me wanting me‑‑ they want it more than I do, for me to make this team, so I was just glad I came through for them. Q. Brendan, does this makeup a little bit for the disappointment of '08 and what happened here in the same pool? BRENDAN HANSEN: I don't think about '08 anymore, honestly. I think it builds confidence for me going into‑‑ knowing that I'm fast and that I'm going to be able to compete. It was really important that I got under a minute, and I'm sure Rowdy said it a thousand times that it was important for me to go under a minute, because to put yourself on the podium and be able to compete you have to be under a minute, and I wanted to make sure I did that. I feel confident about where I am and where I'm going and, you know, that being said, I think it's going to gear up really well for the next three and a half weeks. Q. You mentioned you've learned you don't have to move mountains. Going into the last two Olympics not just thinking of goal but world records, certainly some of the thoughts that you had in '04, is that the change of attitude? BRENDAN HANSEN: Yeah. We put, as athletes, the Olympics on the highest pedestal, because it's the highest stage we could get to. So when we finally get there, we think we have to do these amazing, heroic things that the media seems to blow up, because it so exciting, the Olympics. As the athlete, when you get there and you're looking at the event you're like, okay, just swim fast. Just do the same thing you did when you were 7 years old on the school grounds, racing the kid next to you. That's why the 25 guys and girls made the team, and that's what they're doing. I kinda learned that lesson the hard way, because in '04 I was so stressed out about it, and in '08 I didn't want to do it. Now I think maybe I'll figure it out, who knows. Q. Did you know Kitajima was in the audience tonight? BRENDAN HANSEN: Yeah, I saw him the second day I was here. I went over to him and made it as awkward as I possibly could, gave him a big 'ol hug, and he was like, "What are you doing?" and I was like, "Hey, how are you?" and I was like, "Hey, your English is gettin' good." We have always had a very good relationship, and I don't agree with the fact that Salo decided to bring his whole crew here to train while this was going on, and it's cool for him to see me swim because at the end of the day when he gets on the blocks, he has to know that the only guy that's beaten him in the last ten years is me. Q. Congratulations‑‑ BRENDAN HANSEN: Thank you, where are you from? Q. I'm from‑‑ BRENDAN HANSEN: I'm just playin' with you. I know where you're from. Q. So you saw Kitajima, and he also came back pretty good this year. BRENDAN HANSEN: Yeah. Q. He's coming back. Has it made you a little more motivation higher to come back for this meet? BRENDAN HANSEN: No, I think this has been just an individual journey. I never thought about him at all the whole time I was coming back. I knew in the back of my mind he was probably going to be the guy to beat, but you can't‑‑ you don't think about other athletes when you're trying to accomplish or come back. You have to focus on yourself, because at the end of the day you're the one on the blocks and racing, so that's the mentality I had. That being said, you know, he's the one with the target on his chest now, and he's the one to beat in London, and I'm going to do everything in my power the next month and a half to make sure that I make it really, really hard for him. Q. Brendan, you were talking about how appreciative you were of the crowds. Michael Phelps said he wanted to change swimming forever. Are the crowds like this proof that he has changed swimming forever? BRENDAN HANSEN: I would say that he is a huge part of the reason that swimming is what it is today. He broke barrier and walls for us that I don't think any other athlete could have ever done. He put us‑‑ when he won those 8 gold medals in Beijing he put swimming in superstar status. He broke‑‑ he's done a lot, and I think a big part‑‑ we all as athletes appreciate what he's done, and it's been really fun to watch him‑‑ because I've been there the whole time, watching him when he was 15, and the man that he is today. It's fun to see that, and he is the reason that swimming is what it is today in this country. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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