ODUSports.com sat down with Lady Monarch swimmer Stephanie Norris for a Q&A.
Q: When did you start competitive swimming?
A: I started with summer swim league until I was about six. Then I joined my club swim team, but I wasn’t really that competitive with it until I was in the eighth grade.
Q: What event(s) do you participate in competition?
A: I mostly swim sprint freestyle, so 50-free, 100-free and 200-free.
Q: Why did you choose ODU?
A: I chose it because I liked the location. I wanted a school that was more southern than where I live, which is Baltimore. I really liked the team and thought that the team got along really well which was something I was looking for, and they had the program I wanted. So that was a plus.
Q: What is your favorite activity to do outside of swimming?
A: I like to just hang out with friends. I also like to shop and watch Netflix.
Q: Who is your favorite actor/actress?
A: The actress Katherine Heigl, who played ‘Izzie Stevens’ on Grey’s Anatomy.
Q: What is your favorite meal?
A: I like Chicken and Waffles. It’s my favorite meal.
Q: Have you traveled anywhere outside of the US?
A: I’ve been to the Bahamas once, but that’s about it.
Q: Have you decided on a major?
A: I’ve decided to major in speech pathology and minor in special education.
Q: What would you like to do after you graduate in a few years?
A: I really like working with children so hopefully I will be a speech pathologist in an elementary school.
Q: Who was your role model growing up?
A: My role model growing up, to name one I guess, was Natalie Coughlin, swimming wise, because when I was growing up she was in all the Olympic games and I looked up to her because she seemed like a really down to earth person.
Q: What did you want to be when you were younger? Did you always want to be a swimmer?
A: Yeah, once I started swimming I always had the dream of swimming in the Olympics, but I really wanted to be a singer when I was younger, but it definitely didn’t work out.
Q: If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?
A: I would want the ability to breath under water. It would make swimming a lot easier.
Q: With a lot of your teammates being from abroad, is it difficult to converse with them?
A: No, not really. The first few weeks they are here, they are just getting used to our culture and speaking in English all the time, so it might be a little odd at first. After that we are around each other so much that it just gets really easy and conversation flows more easily.
Q: What is your practice schedule like?
A: We practice everyday, but three times a week we have double practices.
Q: How are practices broken up?
A: They break up the morning practices by the distance swimmer and the sprint swimmers. So I am in the sprint group, but the whole team goes one morning a week together.
Q: What is one of the most difficult things about swimming on a college team as opposed to a high school/club team?
A: We practice a lot more than I did with my high school team and you know you have to go to every single practice, obviously, so it takes up a lot of time and you are expected to swim your best or give it your all even when you are sore and tired. So it is hard getting used to all the yardage we swim compared to what I did in high school.
Q: How do you keep your body from getting exhausted or over used?
A: I just make sure that I eat a lot of food before practice. Like granola bars, just so I have something, a little bit of energy. I stretch a lot, especially after weights, just so I am not as sore the next day and sometimes I’ll take an ice bath.
Q: During the summer Olympics, what is your favorite swimming event to watch?
A: I like to watch the relays. It’s hard to pick one because they are all really exciting, but the relays are more competitive. One of the best races ever was the 400-free relay, when Michael Phelps was going for his eighth gold medal. So they are always really exciting.
Q: Do you have a pre-race/event mixed tape?
A: No, I usually don’t listen to music. I don’t know, during meets we usually are not allowed to have our phones so we are cheering for our teammates and I just try to visualize my race without any distractions.