American Olympic Champion Dana Vollmer will make her post-Olympic competitive debut next month at the Arena Pro Swim Series stop in Mesa. While she won’t be the only Olympian at the meet, she will likely be the only one who will compete while 26 weeks pregnant.
In a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, Vollmer says that she’s “started having dreams about being at competitions” and that “it’s been too long.” So, she will swim one race, the 50 meter free, at the next stop of USA Swimming’s pro/am series.
Her best time in the 50 free is a 24.69 that she did at last year’s Pro Swim Series stop in Mesa, so the pool holds some good spring memories for her.
Vollmer and her husband Andy Grant are expecting baby #2 in July of 2017. Vollmer stepped away from competition after the London Olympics too and gave birth to Arlen in early 2015. She was back in the water in time to win bronze in the 100 fly the 2016 Olympic Games and gold as part of the 400 medley relay – a follow-up to her 3 gold medals (100 fly, 800 free relay, 400 medley relay) from London.
Vollmer in total now has 7 Olympic medals and 16 World Championship medals (10 in long course, 6 in short course).
The Arena Pro Swim Series at Mesa will run from April 13th-15th at the Skyline Aquatic Center.
I barely wanna work out if I had a particularly large meal in the last day or two. Ain’t no way I’m doing anything with a dang thing livin’ up in my guts.
This made me chuckle?
Good for her. All the best!
For everyone concerned about her unborn child’s well-being, I’m sure she has consulted with a doctor about this. My mom swam a 400 IM in a meet about a month before she gave birth to me, and it ended up being my best event as a swimmer. Maybe her baby will become a great sprinter!
Ok that’s pretty crazy, especially that far along in her pregnancy!
I play a doctor on TV and in this column…. Folks “Take a pill,relax and enjoy the watching and reporting.”
Lol if she wins she needs to get 2 medals, 1 for her 1 for the baby
Isn’t it too early for 1st of April jokes?
6 months pregnant…pretty cool! My wife swam USMS nationals 2-3 months pregnant and at 7 months still not very “big” and literally induced her labor swimming “too hard” at masters practice the night she went into labor. I don’t know about full blown competing, but this is Dana Vollmer! People would think my wife was nuts, and Vollmer too, but if you saw our 2 1/2 year old daughter you’d be swimming too!!!! I say good for her!