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U.S. TEAM OLYMPIC TRIALS: SWIMMING


July 2, 2012


Ricky Berens


OMAHA, NEBRASKA

Q.  You got a surprise today didn't you?
RICKY BERENS:  Yeah, I got a big surprise!  Today has been a great day.  I saw Michael for the first time since I heard, and I said, "Do I say "thank you"?  That was a big decision for them to drop a race and an interesting way to find out, but it's been a fun day.

Q.  Going forward do you put anymore stock on what you see in Twitter?
RICKY BERENS: ‑‑ tweets more often.

Q.  You didn't believe him at first, did you?  You weren't sure?
RICKY BERENS:  I saw his tweet, and I hadn't heard anything from USA Swimming, and I hadn't gotten any calls from coaches or anything, so Bob's word is pretty good, but I was surprised he was dropping the 200 Free.  That was the biggest thing.

Q.  How much time between the time you saw what Bob had written on Twitter until you got official confirmation?
RICKY BERENS:  About 30 minutes.  I was running around the room, trying to call my whole family and nobody was pickin' up a phone.
I texted my entire family none of them picked up the phone and I was like, "I have some very important news to tell you guys, but nobody decided to pick up the phone."

Q.  How does this affect you as far as when you get over there?  You've got a "second life" I guess.  Does it feel okay that you got in this way and now you have something to prove or‑‑
RICKY BERENS:  Bob and Michael have given me a huge opportunity; it's a life‑changing opportunity.
I'm going to make the best of it.  200 Free is one of the deepest fields to be in in the world, and I was planning on swimming the 200 Free in the relay, so I would already be training for that.
But to swim it individually brings a whole different‑‑ it's going to be an experience and one of the most fun things I will ever do.

Q.  How tight is the turn‑around for you guys?
RICKY BERENS:  It's a couple weeks shorter than last time, but I think it's an appropriate amount of time.  We're all going to go hard, bump it up for the next two weeks and come right back down.  It will be a good position for everybody.

Q.  Is there an advantage to being closer to it?
RICKY BERENS:  Depends on who you are.  I don't think it makes that much of a difference.  Australia was over in March.  They have a ton of time to break down and taper again.  We have a good amount of time, too.

Q.  (No microphone.)
RICKY BERENS:  It's incredible.  Being there for the second time is incredible.  Each time it changes.
Each time there is something special about it.  Whether it's a number of new faces‑‑ I've gotten to know these guys over the years, and they have been on our National Team for the past four years, so to see them have such a huge moment, a big achievement.  We have a lot of new faces and it's a great group of guys.

Q.  Thank you.  Good luck.
RICKY BERENS:  Thanks.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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