The award winning, former world record-holding Olympic hopeful visited Kishaba Youth Center on Camp Foster, June 22 for Olympic Day to share her struggles, achievements and some relevant advice.

Held annually, Olympic Day is celebrated by thousands of people in more than 160 countries and commemorates the birth of the modern Olympic Games. Athletes around the world lead discussions with youth about the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.

More than 30 youth gathered to hear Mohler’s accounts of her swimming career.

“My mom signed me and my sister up for a summer league swim team so we’d have a constructive way to burn up all our summer energy,” said the Naperville, Ill. native. “By the end of the summer, I loved swimming, and I didn’t want it to end just because of school, so I joined the local YMCA swim club.”

Mohler said although she initially had high hopes for year-round swimming, her first few practices left much to be desired.

“I thought the practices were too hard and not fun enough, so I wanted to quit,” said Mohler of her early league days. “Luckily, my mom wouldn’t let me quit. She told me I had already agreed to swim [plus, she had already paid the team fees], so quitting wasn’t an option. I am grateful to her for that decision, because after that, not quitting became a major mantra in my life.”

Throughout the years, Mohler said she used her ‘never give up’ method to push through many obstacles.

“I was always a lot smaller than other swimmers my age until I was a sophomore in high school, when I grew 7 inches in one year,” Mohler said. “However, until then, I didn’t make excuses, I just listened to my coaches and made up for my lack of height with a determination not to let my smaller size affect the outcomes of my races.”
In 2001, after making the world championship and continuously making the U.S. National Team, Mohler tried out for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team.

She didn’t make it.

“I was crushed, I felt like I had let my family, friends and coaches down,” said Mohler of the experience. “I had trained for four years with the goal of making the team. I’d made huge sacrifices, and I had nothing to show for it. Nevertheless, I picked myself up, didn’t feel sorry for myself and got right back into training- with the goal of making the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.”

In order to achieve her goal, Mohler said she began training with a vengeance and re-evaluating her lifestyle choices. She enlisted the help of a personal trainer.

“I wanted to have no excuses,” Mohler said. “I needed to be able to look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day and say I had done everything I could to set myself up for success.”

When the 2008 Olympic trials rolled around, Mohler was present and ready to show her stuff.

She placed fourth in the 200 meter Butterfly and 200 meter Backstroke events, but didn’t make the team.
Despite her disappointment, Mohler competed in the U.S. Open weeks later.

I felt like I had something to prove to myself,” Mohler said. “I ended up dropping time in every event I raced in, snagging the high point average and earning a time that would have made the Olympic team.”

Mohler pushed ahead, this time competing in Rome for the World Championship in the 200 meter Butterfly. It was here that she dropped three full seconds from her best time and broke the standing world record.

“This was the most rewarding experience of all, because I never gave up on myself,” Mohler said. “If after the 2008 Olympic trials I had retired from swimming, as some of my friends suggested and many assumed I would, I’d never have had this amazing experience.”

In presenting her story to the youth of the Kishaba Youth Center, Mohler repeated the theme of perseverance.

“I would encourage you all to always pursue your passion, dreams and goals in whatever you do,” said the swimmer. “We all have obstacles, but everything is what you make of it. If you learn from your setbacks and let them motivate you, in the end everything will work out.”

Mohler said she has yet to let go of her dream of becoming an Olympian.

“Right now, I’m training to try-out for the 2012 Olympics in London. My ultimate goal is to win an Olympic event,” Mohler said. “This is not an easy task, and I have to maintain total dedication to this goal.”

Dawnece Williams, a fifth grader at Zukeran Elementary here, said Mohler’s presence and message were inspiring.

“I loved hearing Mrs. Mohler speak because I want to maybe run track in the Olympics one day,” said the 11-year-old. “She taught us about perseverance and never giving up, and that is very important.”