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The U.S. Olympic swimming teams got something at practice Thursday they won’t when the competition starts in Tokyo later this month.
Fan support, and lots of it, juiced them up at Punahou School’s Waterhouse Pool.
“We just found out there are no spectators (allowed at the Olympics), so we really want you to bring us some energy,” men’s team captain Ryan Murphy told a gathering of around 300, mostly kids, many of them also competitive swimmers. “We’re going to go over there and try to win some hardware.”
Japan declared a state of emergency Thursday due to rising COVID-19 numbers. That entails a ban on spectators at the Olympics, which have already been postponed from last year. Fans from outside Japan — including family members of competitors — had already been banned.
The U.S. swimmers leave for Japan on Monday. For the past two weeks, they’ve also trained at two other pools here.
“Whether we stepped off the bus at ‘Iolani, stepped off the bus at the University of Hawaii, stepped off the bus at Punahou, we get that feeling (of support),” men’s coach Dave Durden said Thursday during a Zoom news conference. “Everything exceeded our expectations. The staff at these locations and these facilities are fantastic.”
Before Thursday the teams had kept a low profile on Oahu.
“We can’t be going out and surfing. I went to the beach once for about five minutes,” said men’s captain Caeleb Dressel, who won two gold medals at the 2016 Olympics. “We were a little cooped up — a lot of video games, a lot of card games. So it was great to see the kids.”
The feeling was mutual, especially for swimmers who got to view their heroes up close.
“It’s cool to be a small part of their journey,” said Kainoa Paul, a senior at Punahou and member of its state championship swimming team. “It’s so different seeing them in person than on TV. They’re big.”
Ken Nakatsu, Paul’s teammate and classmate, was also impressed.
“It’s pretty inspirational seeing them. It shows you can achieve greatness no matter where you come from or your ethnicity,” Nakatsu said.
In 2016 Simone Manuel became the first African American woman to win an individual gold medal in Olympic swimming.
“She’s kind of like a symbol of America,” Nakatsu said. “Olympic teams represent every part of America.”
Manuel is now a team captain, another Olympics first for an African American woman.
“The biggest thing is if you have a dream, don’t let the doubts of others, or yourself, stop you,” Manuel said. “It’s easy to lose your passion when other people try to tell you what you can and can’t do.”
Some of the swimmers had light recovery practices Thursday. Manuel was among those whose schedule called for a hard workout of fast swimming, and she wowed the fans while feeding off their energy.
“It’s so much fun to be a fan at practice,” said Katie Ledecky, who will likely add to her career five gold medals in Tokyo. “There’s always someone going fast.”
Michael Andrew kicked hard at the end of his set while the crowd chanted, “U-S-A, U-S-A.” Moments later he spoke to the fans on a poolside microphone.
“I would not have been able to do that without you,” he said. “My shoulders and lats were falling off.”
At a Zoom interview session later, Andrew reiterated that he has not received vaccination for COVID-19 and has no immediate plans to do so. It wasn’t breaking news, but it was of interest considering the latest announcement from Japan.
Rowdy Gaines, a three-time gold medalist and swimming Hall of Famer, now covers the Olympics for NBC and ESPN. The former Hawaii resident told the kids they will never forget this day.
“You inspire them as much as they inspire you,” Gaines said. “This is the last chance they’re going to have to swim in front of spectators. … You are their little brothers and sisters. Swimming is a family.”
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