Diana Dunn went to the Olympic Trials over the summer to compete in swimming. Dunn qualified for the trials in the very last race at Junior Nationals 2015. The trials consist of many races. To qualify for the Olympics athletes have to be in the top two of their race. When they qualify for the trials they know almost immediately after they make the cut.

“I was at Junior Nationals last summer and I swam going into my 200 free, I ended up making my cut which is very exciting. It’s very black and white, either you make it or you don’t,” Dunn said.

The Olympic trials are held somewhere different each year, and each year they build a new pool inside the venue. These venues are called CenturyLinks.

“Inside each CenturyLink they actually build into the Links’ floor so that the pool is in the center of the stadium,” Dunn said.

Competing in the Olympic Trials is different from most other events since the athletes are swimming in Olympic sized pools.

“The pool is huge, it’s an Olympic length pool which has 10 lanes which is wider than most pools,” Dunn said.

Dunn put a lot of hard work and time into her swimming. Which allowed her to become an Olympic level athlete.

“Hard work. A lot of hours and attention go to my technique and race strategies,” Dunn said.

Dunn took her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandmother to the trials to support her.

“It was really nice having so many people there who were supporting me and my goals,” Dunn said.  

Competing in the Olympic trials takes time and lots of training. Dunn trains nine times a week.

“Just training, the year leading into the Olympics is called an Olympic year, so basically I started really focusing on trials,” Dunn said. “After I made my cut and then when school started I started training again.”

Dunn’s parents were there through the whole experience from when she made the cut to when she went to trials.

“You have to understand, she made that qualifying time during her very last race at 2015 Summer Jr. Nationals,” Sandy Dunn said. “She had barely missed four times already at that meet. So after watching her persevere through frustration and disappointment in herself I just remember feeling overwhelming joy, relief, pride and excitement when she touched that wall.”

The Olympic Trials are different from a normal swim meet in that there are a lot more people and the pressure is unending.

“This meet was a lot of pressure, there were a lot of college scouts there to look at high school athletes who qualified as well as different teams,” Diana Dunn said. “So depending on how well you scored, you could obviously make the Olympic team but you could be eligible to make the Junior National team.”

Being at the trials may be overwhelming for the athletes but it is also awe inspiring for the crowd.

“I was in awe and disbelief from start to finish,” Sandy Dunn said. “What a privilege it was to have a child competing there. Never had I been in the presence of so many true swim fans gathered under the same roof. Nor had I ever witnessed all of our nation’s’ best swimmers competing at their peak performance level under the same roof. Last but not least, the patriotism was intense.”

Olympic level athletes need more than just practice they also need support from friends and family.

“Financially, practically, emotionally, and unconditionally. We drive her to/from practice and meets. My husband even became an official, and I have long stopped counting my volunteer hours.” Dunn said.

Swimming in the trials is a bit different from the a normal meet because of the size, so some swimmers come early so they can get practice in the pool before the actually event.

“I was there a couple days at the venue before I swam so I could get used to swimming in the pool, because it’s huge,” Diana Dunn said.

Dunn is really focusing on college recruitment but she is always on top of her game and pushing herself to be the best she can be in order to go to the next Olympic trials.

“I’m focusing on college recruitment, I’m a junior so colleges can start emailing and contacting me, which is exciting,” Dunn said.

The Olympic Trials are an event that many people attend and watch making it exciting for all involved.

“Being able to swim there was just crazy because I’ve never swam in a race that was that loud before cause there was just so many people cheering,” Dunn said.