Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Friends for Life
Swimming stars Katie McLaughlin and Abbey Weitzeil have been friends since they paired up as roommates at a Pacific Coast All Star meet, at 11 years of age. They roomed together ever since -- from age group swimming, to college, to pro -- always pushing each other, and sharing the celebration of their individual success.
Now with World Championships and Olympic gold medals under their collective belt, McLaughlin and Weitzeil train with Cal-Berkeley alumni group while also representing LA Current in the International Swimming League.
“What I love about Abbey is that she is bold, unapologetic in who she is, and she just goes for it,” says McLaughlin. “We always train and travel together, but she isn’t someone I try and beat. It’d be different if we were the top 50 freestylers in the country, but even when we’re in the same events, I don’t ever see her as my competitor. I think we generally just want the best for each other.”
“We’ve had such an amazing swimming journey,” says Weitzeil. “I have such a great memory of us being together at the same meet when we both made the 2014 National Team; it was amazing to share that feeling with her.”
Being two of the country’s top swimmers, most would expect them to carry a serious demeanor, but their laughter quickly trumps any intensity. McLaughlin can’t count the number of meets they failed at napping between prelims and finals. “We just get the giggles. Our heart rates are up at 160 and we are thinking about everything except swimming. It's non-stop laughter. Then come finals, and we are just super excited for each other,” says McLaughlin. “We’re always up to something, and it’s always fun.”
They hardly ever talk swimming, even on the pool deck. Some days they’re both killing it in practice, other days one does well and the other doesn’t, but they always keep it light. “The friendship has kept swimming fun. I can’t imagine what my swimming career would have been like without her,” says Weitzeil.
“A couple of years ago we were doing 50’s long course and couldn’t break :30 to save our lives. We just didn’t have it and we were crying and laughing at the same time. Katie would catch me around the 25 mark, and we’d race so hard to end, only to end up going 31’s. The harder we tried, the worse it got and we couldn’t stop the laughter or the tears,” says Weitzeil. “We couldn’t bring it and couldn’t do anything about it.”
Obviously, they would bounce back. Weitzeil crushed a long course sprint set of four rounds of 3 x 50’s @:40, followed by a 100 all out. She was holding :28s and :29s on the 50’s. “That summer was a ton of 50’s on the :40 (LC) and I was having great training sessions every day,” she says.
The two are polar opposites in both training and race strategy. McLaughlin is a back-half swimmer and will attack any aerobic set, whereas Weitzeil is front half sprinter.
“Abbey schooled me in the frees,” says McLaughlin. “She goes out crazy and I like to play catch-up. Even with how we train…kicking, pulling, weights, cardio…we are so different.”
Fast forwarding from those awesome training sessions to the 2020 summer, the women relied on each other to get through the pandemic chaos. “We would just drive in circles all day looking for places to swim around the bay area. We were lifting in guys’ garages. It wasn’t a great situation,” says Weitzel. “I hated coffee until all that driving around, so I told Katie ‘I wanna join the club.’ Now I drink coffee all the time.”
“2020 was a lot of ups and downs,” says McLaughlin. “But having the ISL was a huge plus and we both did great there. It was so fun to go to meet again and race, laugh and have a good time.”
“It sounds cliche but it's awesome knowing someone else has a hand in your success,” says McLaughlin. “Abbey and I have different strengths and weaknesses and there’s a lot of balance in our relationship. It’s helped us become stronger swimmers and friends.”
“Katie is the type of friend who I have to call anytime I see or hear something funny. I just tell her anything." says Weitzeil. “2021 is gonna be great, and I can’t wait to share it with her.”
Now with World Championships and Olympic gold medals under their collective belt, McLaughlin and Weitzeil train with Cal-Berkeley alumni group while also representing LA Current in the International Swimming League.
“What I love about Abbey is that she is bold, unapologetic in who she is, and she just goes for it,” says McLaughlin. “We always train and travel together, but she isn’t someone I try and beat. It’d be different if we were the top 50 freestylers in the country, but even when we’re in the same events, I don’t ever see her as my competitor. I think we generally just want the best for each other.”
“We’ve had such an amazing swimming journey,” says Weitzeil. “I have such a great memory of us being together at the same meet when we both made the 2014 National Team; it was amazing to share that feeling with her.”
Being two of the country’s top swimmers, most would expect them to carry a serious demeanor, but their laughter quickly trumps any intensity. McLaughlin can’t count the number of meets they failed at napping between prelims and finals. “We just get the giggles. Our heart rates are up at 160 and we are thinking about everything except swimming. It's non-stop laughter. Then come finals, and we are just super excited for each other,” says McLaughlin. “We’re always up to something, and it’s always fun.”
They hardly ever talk swimming, even on the pool deck. Some days they’re both killing it in practice, other days one does well and the other doesn’t, but they always keep it light. “The friendship has kept swimming fun. I can’t imagine what my swimming career would have been like without her,” says Weitzeil.
“A couple of years ago we were doing 50’s long course and couldn’t break :30 to save our lives. We just didn’t have it and we were crying and laughing at the same time. Katie would catch me around the 25 mark, and we’d race so hard to end, only to end up going 31’s. The harder we tried, the worse it got and we couldn’t stop the laughter or the tears,” says Weitzeil. “We couldn’t bring it and couldn’t do anything about it.”
Obviously, they would bounce back. Weitzeil crushed a long course sprint set of four rounds of 3 x 50’s @:40, followed by a 100 all out. She was holding :28s and :29s on the 50’s. “That summer was a ton of 50’s on the :40 (LC) and I was having great training sessions every day,” she says.
The two are polar opposites in both training and race strategy. McLaughlin is a back-half swimmer and will attack any aerobic set, whereas Weitzeil is front half sprinter.
“Abbey schooled me in the frees,” says McLaughlin. “She goes out crazy and I like to play catch-up. Even with how we train…kicking, pulling, weights, cardio…we are so different.”
Fast forwarding from those awesome training sessions to the 2020 summer, the women relied on each other to get through the pandemic chaos. “We would just drive in circles all day looking for places to swim around the bay area. We were lifting in guys’ garages. It wasn’t a great situation,” says Weitzel. “I hated coffee until all that driving around, so I told Katie ‘I wanna join the club.’ Now I drink coffee all the time.”
“2020 was a lot of ups and downs,” says McLaughlin. “But having the ISL was a huge plus and we both did great there. It was so fun to go to meet again and race, laugh and have a good time.”
“It sounds cliche but it's awesome knowing someone else has a hand in your success,” says McLaughlin. “Abbey and I have different strengths and weaknesses and there’s a lot of balance in our relationship. It’s helped us become stronger swimmers and friends.”
“Katie is the type of friend who I have to call anytime I see or hear something funny. I just tell her anything." says Weitzeil. “2021 is gonna be great, and I can’t wait to share it with her.”