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Ziegler mining for gold
In April 2006, Kate Ziegler traveled to Shanghai, China, to swim in the Short Course World Championships. After winning a gold and silver medal in her two races, Ziegler made a detour to Beijing on her trip home and saw construction under way as the city prepared to host the Olympic Games, which were still more than two years away.
"I saw the plans for the Olympic Village and I saw the pool being built," recalled Ziegler, 20. "It made it more real. I definitely wanted to get back there."
Ziegler, a Great Falls native and O'Connell High School graduate, achieved that goal earlier this month when she was named to the U.S. Olympic swimming team. She finished second in both the 400- and 800-meter freestyle races at the team trials, and now has a chance to add two more medals to her already-impressive trophy case.
"Honestly, it's a dream come true," Ziegler said last week from Palo Alto, Calif., where the Olympic team was stationed at Stanford University. "It's something I've been training for for so long. I can't believe it's finally happened."
For a swimmer who has enjoyed so much success early in her career, it was still hard for Ziegler to believe that she was getting the opportunity to represent her country.
"Sometimes, it doesn't feel quite real," she said. "At the end of the trials, they paraded us around and introduced us as the Olympic team. Everyone was cheering. It was like, 'Oh my goodness, it's actually happening.'"
Ziegler and her fellow swimmers were scheduled to fly to Singapore on July 24 to continue training and adjust to the time change before continuing on to Beijing Aug. 4. Though she was in China two years ago, Ziegler knows this time around, it is sure to be a completely different experience.
"I don't know what to expect," said Ziegler, who has been training in the pool four hours per day, five days a week. "I've heard from other swimmers that in the cafeteria, it's like the whole world is eating in one place. I'm excited to be a part of it."
Ziegler's favorite event – the 1,500-meter freestyle, for which she holds the world record – is still not part of the Olympics for women, but she is confident that she can compete with the best swimmers in the world in the shorter 400 and 800 races. Ziegler noted that during the trials, athletes were dropping seconds off their best times and when the adrenaline gets pumping, there's no telling what can occur.
"I think any time I get up on the blocks and race someone, it's going to bring out the best in me," said Ziegler, whose parents and sister will be traveling to Beijing to watch her compete. "It's anyone's to win. When you're there, anything can happen."
Ziegler has come a long way since her days as a 6-year-old who only wanted to swim because she liked the team suit and hoped to get one of each colored ribbon awarded at the end of the race. While the stage will surely be bigger next month in Beijing, Ziegler is still trying to keep her goals as simple as possible.
"I just want to go out and do the best I can," she said. "I want to get my best times, and wherever that places me will be great. To be an Olympian is an incredible feat, but to be a medalist would be even cooler. That would be so special to me."
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