Auburn swimmer plans to bring home Olympic gold
Jul 5, 2012, 10:16 AM | Updated: 12:01 pm
Ariana Kukors, of Auburn, is going to the summer Olympics in London after finishing second in the women’s 200m Individual Medley at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“The Olympics, in terms of pressure, compared to the trials, seems much less,” Kukors told the Ross & Burbank Show on Thursday.
This is the only event Kukors was entered in, so if she blew it, the only thing in her near future would be a plane ride back to the Northwest.
Kukors already had a taste of disappointment when she failed to make the team in 2008. She’s not sure it cost her a spot on the team, but Kukors believes she made a mistake four years ago and took a half stroke into the wall.
While getting your hand on the wall is really the goal, Kukors said the training and nerve management also play a huge role.
For the trials, she said her sister held her hand as she was falling asleep the night before. Kukors said it’s hard to fall asleep when you’re lying there going over your stroke, the race, how you felt the day before.
“You’re laying in bed thinking, ‘stop thinking about swimming, stop thinking about swimming’ and of course, is all you can think about is swimming.”
As for her regime, Kukors admits training for the Olympics team is a full time job.
She’s in the water three to five hours per day, does pilates four times per week, lifts weights three times per week, runs a couple miles every other day, and does some yoga and a lot of stretching. She also eats organic foods and a lot of fruits and veggies.
To those happy with snacking in front of the TV, Kukors’ lifestyle may sound like boot camp, but she says she does have other priorities, like family, friends, and school, in her life.
She spent time doing what high school girls do and lived in a big house with her friends while in college at the University of Washington. And she wouldn’t trade in those life experiences.
“Mentally, emotionally, physically, it’s really important for me.”
Granted, Kukors said her parents would pick her up from her friends’ slumber parties at 4:00 a.m. to get to swim practice, they never forced her into swimming. She said she grew up with choir, plays, and gymnastics, and had a well-rounded childhood. Her parents put Kukors and her sisters into swimming to make sure they were boat safe.
Eventually those boat safety classes landed her at the King Aquatic Club and on to World Championship meets. Next up, Kukors plans to bring home the gold.
