Thursday, June 16th 2016, 4:53 pm
Bishop Kelley Junior Patrick Callan has been swimming laps since he was five, and the countless repetition takes a lot of work a lot of mental preparation.
Callan's talent in the pool has landed him accolades across Oklahoma, but this summer he's representing the state nationally. Competing in Indy, he'll be representing the Trident Aquatics Club in the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month.
"It's a really big deal for me,” stated Callan. “I've been training for this for a very long time, and I went to watch it in 2012 and ever since them I've been really motivated to swim there this year."
To compete against the best, Callan has some help from his coach, Titus Knight, who competed in two Olympic Trials of his own.
"It's really, really cool to see and coach a guy from Oklahoma to be able to go to the Olympic Trials," said Knight. "Whether they face Michael Phelps or the kid down the street, you race any and every opportune moment.”
Callan will be one of the youngest swimmers in the 200 freestyle event. The event is expected to build toward an Olympic run in later years, but for now, he'll keep spending time in the water, working on the stroke, building strength and speed, lowering his time and preparing himself to face the best.
"I'm not really expecting to make the team or anything, this is my first time qualifying, I'm just excited to be there," added Callan.
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