Thursday, June 2, 2022
Erika Brown Gets Ready for Exciting Road Ahead
To say Erika Brown has a couple of life-changing weeks ahead of her is an understatement.
Not only is she marrying fellow University of Tennessee swimmer Alec Connolly this weekend, but in the weeks that follow, she’ll swim in her first World Championships.
After that, she’ll meet Alec in Naples, Italy, for her honeymoon.
But first-things-first, she begins with her nuptials before a group of family, friends and swimmers this Saturday in Knoxville.
Needless to say, she’s excited about everything coming up.
“No doubt, it’s going to be an exciting few weeks,” said Brown, who got somewhat of a late start (10 years old) in swimming. “Of course, my wedding is most important, but I’m also really excited about swimming at Worlds after competing at the Olympics last summer.”
At those Olympics in Tokyo, Brown won two relay medals—silver in the 4x100 mixed medley relay and bronze as a member of the 4x100 freestyle team—but failed to make the finals individually in the 100 free.
This time around, she has more big, international meet experience.
With that growth, Brown is bringing more confidence and bigger goals with her to Budapest — along with a love for her teammates and, of course, swimming.
“The Olympic experience taught me a lot about myself, and the biggest lesson was to trust in the process and let go of my fears,” said Brown, who graduated from Tennessee in 2020, a couple months after COVID canceled her last NCAA Championships.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself last year, especially after all the uncertainty surrounding COVID. I’m a big believer in faith, and I just need to give it to God. I’m more relaxed now. I’ve put in the work, and I just have to trust in myself.”
Even though she made the 2020 Olympic team, Brown, like other athletes across the board, was a year removed from her best times.
She said she’s spent the past year since those Games building back her speed, strength and mental disposition to where she was in 2020.
When COVID hit and the Olympics were postponed, she said she was able to reset, but it’s only just been within the past few months that she feels she in pre-pandemic competitive swimming condition.
That showed this past April at Phillips 66 International Team Trials where she finished second in the 50 free and third in the 100 free to make the World team.
At 2020 Olympic Trials, she qualified second in the 100 but finished eighth in the 50 free. She said she’s exited to compete in the shorter freestyle sprint while once again swimming a leg in the 4x100 free relay in Budapest.
“My goals were to make the top two in both freestyle sprints, but I’m really looking forward to the 50 after not qualifying for it for Tokyo last year,” said Brown, who was selling real estate until recently stopping to focus on swimming. “Both of my times (at World Trials) were personal bests, which is a really good sign that I’m back to where I was swimming before the pandemic.
“I know in order to medal in the 50, I’m going to need to drop more time. I’m smaller than a lot of the freestyle sprinters, so I focus on my buoyancy and balance. It’s something I’ve really worked on the past couple of years.”
Regardless of what happens in Budapest, Brown said she wants to use the World meet as another step toward making her second Olympic team in 2024.
Beyond that, she’s not sure what she plans to do about swimming, but as someone who wants a big family (five kids), she knows she’s eager to get started sooner than later.
“I’ve always wanted a big family and so does Alec,” she said. “But for now, I want to go into World Championships and help Team USA swim to gold medals in the relays and medal in the 50 free
“That would be a dream come true for me. I’ve already fulfilled my dream of swimming at the Olympics, and now I’m swimming at Worlds. I am excited to see what I can accomplish over the next few years.”
Not only is she marrying fellow University of Tennessee swimmer Alec Connolly this weekend, but in the weeks that follow, she’ll swim in her first World Championships.
After that, she’ll meet Alec in Naples, Italy, for her honeymoon.
But first-things-first, she begins with her nuptials before a group of family, friends and swimmers this Saturday in Knoxville.
Needless to say, she’s excited about everything coming up.
“No doubt, it’s going to be an exciting few weeks,” said Brown, who got somewhat of a late start (10 years old) in swimming. “Of course, my wedding is most important, but I’m also really excited about swimming at Worlds after competing at the Olympics last summer.”
At those Olympics in Tokyo, Brown won two relay medals—silver in the 4x100 mixed medley relay and bronze as a member of the 4x100 freestyle team—but failed to make the finals individually in the 100 free.
This time around, she has more big, international meet experience.
With that growth, Brown is bringing more confidence and bigger goals with her to Budapest — along with a love for her teammates and, of course, swimming.
“The Olympic experience taught me a lot about myself, and the biggest lesson was to trust in the process and let go of my fears,” said Brown, who graduated from Tennessee in 2020, a couple months after COVID canceled her last NCAA Championships.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself last year, especially after all the uncertainty surrounding COVID. I’m a big believer in faith, and I just need to give it to God. I’m more relaxed now. I’ve put in the work, and I just have to trust in myself.”
Even though she made the 2020 Olympic team, Brown, like other athletes across the board, was a year removed from her best times.
She said she’s spent the past year since those Games building back her speed, strength and mental disposition to where she was in 2020.
When COVID hit and the Olympics were postponed, she said she was able to reset, but it’s only just been within the past few months that she feels she in pre-pandemic competitive swimming condition.
That showed this past April at Phillips 66 International Team Trials where she finished second in the 50 free and third in the 100 free to make the World team.
At 2020 Olympic Trials, she qualified second in the 100 but finished eighth in the 50 free. She said she’s exited to compete in the shorter freestyle sprint while once again swimming a leg in the 4x100 free relay in Budapest.
“My goals were to make the top two in both freestyle sprints, but I’m really looking forward to the 50 after not qualifying for it for Tokyo last year,” said Brown, who was selling real estate until recently stopping to focus on swimming. “Both of my times (at World Trials) were personal bests, which is a really good sign that I’m back to where I was swimming before the pandemic.
“I know in order to medal in the 50, I’m going to need to drop more time. I’m smaller than a lot of the freestyle sprinters, so I focus on my buoyancy and balance. It’s something I’ve really worked on the past couple of years.”
Regardless of what happens in Budapest, Brown said she wants to use the World meet as another step toward making her second Olympic team in 2024.
Beyond that, she’s not sure what she plans to do about swimming, but as someone who wants a big family (five kids), she knows she’s eager to get started sooner than later.
“I’ve always wanted a big family and so does Alec,” she said. “But for now, I want to go into World Championships and help Team USA swim to gold medals in the relays and medal in the 50 free
“That would be a dream come true for me. I’ve already fulfilled my dream of swimming at the Olympics, and now I’m swimming at Worlds. I am excited to see what I can accomplish over the next few years.”