The Paw Print recently sat down (remotely) with current sophomore, Julia Podkoscielny to discuss her incredible swimming career and how her training has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Julia has been competitively swimming since she was only four years old and has been representing Pine Crest at swim meets since preschool. Julia was recently named the Sun-Sentinel Broward girls swimmer of the year for the 2019 season and is also ranked in the 18 & Under World 100 List, which ranks the best youth swimmers in the nation. Julia is already an extremely accomplished swimmer with an amazing future ahead of her.

PP: Because of pool closures, how were you able to train during quarantine?
JP: I swam every day once the pools opened. I also did exercises and ran every day.
PP: What has been the hardest challenge with handling COVID-19 and swimming?
JP: Definitely not swimming as much as I did before because of the limited pool time.
I also had to start doing more than swimming to stay in shape.
PP: How are you feeling about the new upcoming season?
JP: I’m not feeling as confident as usual due to the lessened amount of pool training, but I think I’m in pretty good shape for how much work I’ve been doing.
PP: Did you have any goals that you couldn’t achieve during COVID-19?
JP: Well, I was supposed to go to the Olympic trials this summer but due to the pandemic, they were postponed. Also, before the Olympic trials, I was planning on attempting to make more cuts for the meet.
PP: What do you find to be the most difficult thing about swimming overall?
JP: The mental strength required is probably the most difficult thing because you can always become a good swimmer, but having mental strength can elevate you to another level. For instance, you can be just as fast as the swimmer you are racing but having more mental strength than them will give you the ability to beat them in the race.
PP: Lastly, what do you love most about swimming?
JP: I love the community because you are able to meet so many new people, and make great friends that you can both relate to them and race them.
PP: Thank you so much for meeting with us. We wish you the best of luck this season!
JP: Thank you!