FEAT URED
FEAT URED
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DANE FLORE
On swimming in general:
1. When did you start
swimming?
Pretty early. I was 4 or 5. I
quit it for a while, and got
back into and liked it more,
so I stuck with it.
2. What advice would you
give someone younger than
you?
Try your hardest! Put all
your effort into it and don’t slack off.
3. What do you consider to be some of your most defining qualities?
I am very dedicated and I have a good work ethic, if I set my mind on something I am going to do it.
4. How much of swimming do you believe to be “all in your head”?
Definitely quite a bit of it, you have to be confident in your ability but the work that you
actually put in is even more important in my opinion.
5. Do you think swimming requires more or less of your focus than other sports?
I would say more, just because of how focused you have to be at every single practice and it
takes up a lot of time. We have about 7-9 practices a week so you have to be very dedicated
to the sport.
6. Your sport is considered to be relatively individualized, like track and field or gymnastics.
What does good team work look like for swimmers?
Really just showing up to practice and pushing each other to do our absolute best every day!
16 October 2016
7. What were/are some of the qualities of the best teammates you’ve had?
Competitiveness is a great quality to have because if you train with someone who is just
as competitive as you are, you will both push to be better than the other, which makes
you both better. You also have to be able to let things go, like if you don’t
accomplish something you wanted to. You can’t stay focused
on that; you need to be able to put it out of your head and
not let it bother you.
8. What do you believe is the most important thing for an
athlete to possess in order to achieve greatness?
They have to love what they are doing and they have to want to
be the best that they can be at what they love.
On the 2016 Olympic Trials:
9. How long has this accomplishment been a goal of yours?
You always see it as a kid and want to go when you’re
older but I think I really realized that it could be a very real
possibility about a year ago.
10. What races do you compete in?
400IM
11. What place did you finish?
68th
12. Do you wish to go back to these trials until you make
it to the Olympics?
I don’t think so. I would love to go in 2020 and maybe even
2024 but to actually make the team is much harder than
making the trials.
13. What will it take, athletically speaking, to make it through
and represent the USA?
You have to get 1st or 2nd in your event in order to make
the Olympic team, which when you’re racing professional
swimmers, some who hold world records, is very hard to do.
14. What was your favorite part?
Seeing everyone you’ve been looking up to your whole life
walking on the pool deck like Ryan Lochte and Michael
Phelps.
15. What else do you enjoy doing?
I love just hanging out with friends and having fun.
Doing things like fishing or just going to someone’s house
to hang out.
October 2016
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