Swimmers recount their rituals, routines leading up to races
Sophomore swimmer Gabby Dang has earned an event win this season in three separate events, matching her win total from last season. (Courtesy of Richard Quinton)
By Kyle Boal
Feb. 10, 2021 12:05 p.m.
Before starting a race, Gabby Dang sticks her tongue out behind the blocks.
Pre-race rituals like the sophomore swimmer’s are not uncommon throughout UCLA swim and dive (1-1) or even the swimming world at large.
Whether it’s to confuse her opponents or just for the joy of it, Dang said it’s something she does every race.
“When I put my goggles on, I like to stick my tongue out because it just helps me adjust my goggles, and it’s just fun to do,” Dang said. “I don’t know if my teammates or my rivals are looking, and I don’t know how they’re going to react. Maybe it’s going to shake them up a little bit, I don’t know, but I just like to do that.”
Coach Jordan Wolfrum – who helped lead St. Cloud State to a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference swimming championship in her senior season – explained the moment.
“Just about everybody has a couple of moments of how they prepare themselves behind the blocks,” Wolfrum said. “In our sport, you have a moment where you’re just lined up there with everybody else. And it’s a brief moment, but you know what you do with your hands, the number of jumps you do, do you slap the block, do you get your hands wet? Do you get your body wet? Do you stand there dry? Do you fix your goggles? Do you put your goggles under your cap, over your cap? Everyone has their things that make them feel secure and really present.”
With COVID-19 protocols, some student-athletes have had to adjust.
Having swum on the same club team in high school, backstrokers junior Abriana Howard and sophomore Sophia Kosturos carried their tradition over to UCLA swimming, but this year added some distance to keep things safe.
“We always did this before our races on the club team and it just carried on into UCLA swimming,” Kosturos said. “We’d have this little handshake that we do behind the blocks every single time before a backstroke race. Right now, we can’t really do it because of COVID-19 because we can’t actually touch hands, but this meet we did yesterday, we just did it from two lanes over. We air-did our handshakes.”
For some, their traditions take place long before they jump into the pool.
Junior swimmer Claire Grover – the team leader in individual event wins – said it starts with her breakfast.
“I guess it’s not really funny or quirky, but I definitely need to have a bowl of oatmeal with some protein in it and fruit, and then I always have to roll out, like no matter what,” Grover said.
Though it may not last long, Wolfrum said it’s a beautiful moment in the sport.
“It’s your three, four, five seconds of peace,” Wolfrum said. “One quick conversation with yourself, one moment of presence and also feeling you’ve got this under control, that’s really important. I think everyone has those few seconds, and I think that’s a precious few moments before our event starts.”
