LEXINGTON, Ohio – While it comes as no surprise to area swim fans, Hannah Stevens, a 2014 graduate of Lexington High School, has been named to the 2015-16 USA Swimming National Team.
The announcement was made official Tuesday via a release from USA Swimming.
“I’ve always believed the greatest privilege and honor an athlete can have is being able to represent their country,” said Stevens, adding that it is hard to put into words what it means to be on a team with Olympians such as Missy Franklin and Natalie Coughlin.
“I grew up looking up to these people – they were my idols growing up,” Stevens said. “I wanted to be them, but now I’m, like, on the same level.”
Her next step is to continue gaining experience, which will hopefully lead to bigger, better opportunities – such as becoming an Olympian.
“That’s always been in the back of mind, and after this summer, it’s there,” she said. “Now that I’m here, I really truly believe I have a shot.”
In order to take make it a reality, Stevens will have to make waves at the 2016 Olympic Trials, which are set for June 26 through July 3 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Only the top two finishers in each event will be invited to the Olympic team.
Stevens’ specialty is the 100-meter backstroke. Earlier this year, she won that event for the University of Missouri during the Columbia Sectionals with a time of 1:00.04 – three seconds below the official time standard for the Olympic Trials.
Topping the sectional essentially solidified her making the USA National Team.
“For her, it’s an unbelievable opportunity,” Lex swim coach Brock Spurling said of Stevens making the team. “She’ll have the opportunity to utilize Team USA’s resources, which are the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and an opportunity to go and train with some of the best swimmers in the world.”
Added Spurling, “She’s a very dedicated swimmer, and she wants to be the best.”
But getting to this point didn’t come easily – it took an arduous amount of time and commitment, as well as several sacrifices.
“I remember in high school having to travel an hour to Columbus and back every night, and there were nights I’d get home at 10:30 or 10:45 p.m.,” Stevens said.
After eating dinner and doing homework on those nights, she said she would question why she was doing it.
“Finally colleges started looking at me, and I was like, ‘this is why I’m doing it,’” she said. “And it gave me more motivation and more confidence.”
That level of commitment and drive didn’t go unnoticed.
“Going back as far as the eighth grade, she kind of knew what she wanted, and I have not seen a work ethic from a high school student like Hannah has,” Spurling said. “And Hannah made a lot of sacrifices during high school.”
Among her many high school accolades, Stevens was twice crowned as a state swim MVP during her tenure at Lex, and she holds the state record in the 100 back.
In 2013, she signed a letter of intent to swim at the University of Missouri, where she earned All-American honors in three events this year.
Though she is proud and honored to be a Mizzou Tiger, Stevens hasn’t forgotten where she came from and what her accomplishments mean to others.
“(When I’m home), I run into younger kids, and they look up to me, and I remember being that age and seeing the older kids and looking up to them,” she said. “And I want to be a good example for them – I want to show them that if you work hard, this is what could happen.”
That is a role she said she takes seriously.
“I think it’s important that they believe in themselves like I do,” she added.
“I’ve always believed the greatest privilege and honor an athlete can have is being able to represent their country,” said Hannah Stevens.
