Madison Kennedy figures this stay-at-home period during the coronavirus pandemic is the longest she's ever spent away from the pool. Not that she's dwelling on being unable to practice in the water, her fourth quest to make the U.S. Olympic team now prolonged another year.
Kennedy is doing whatever training she can in these circumstances, but she's also practicing self-care, reading, running and playing soccer and lacrosse with her husband in the backyard of their Charlotte, N.C., home.
After all, it's never just been about swimming for Kennedy, 32, who grew up in Avon before embarking on her professional career and swimming for Team USA the last decade. She loves to travel and try new foods and drink great wine, and when she's not training you can find her working as an educator at Lululemon and teaching pilates at a Charlotte studio.
Kennedy, who in 2016 was on the verge of becoming an Olympian, isn't giving up on her dreams for Tokyo, even with the Games' postponement to 2021. But she doesn't want swimming to define her, or inhibit her from exploring other interests. And with time during quarantine to reflect on her career and envision what comes next, she wants the up-and-coming generation of swimmers to know that they have that option as well.
"I think that's what athletes miss out on," Kennedy said in a phone interview. "There's a world that can be so enhanced by the fact that you are a swimmer, but there's another world, and you've got to go towards it and take part in it."
