Paige Hetrick has a variety of goals to accomplish before the end of her swimming career.

Some will take longer than others to achieve. After competing in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, however, the Bradford native knows one thing for sure: She wants, and needs, to improve.

Hetrick’s standards for herself have always been high. Competing against the nation’s best at the trials, which were held at the CTI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska from June 13-20, she placed among the top 45 finishers in each event.

A time of 2:13.23 in the 200-meter backstroke placed her 23rd, while she finished 42nd in the 100-meter backstroke, swimming the race in 1:02.22. 

“It was really nerve-wracking to be there,” Hetrick said of the 17,560-seat arena that housed the trials. “When you first get there, you see all the lights, all the cameras and all the media people. It’s something you see on TV, and it’s surreal to actually be there for yourself and to know that you’re equal to everyone else there.”

Hetrick wasn’t alone, however, as 20 of her teammates from the University of Louisville also competed at the event.

“It was awesome to be there with the team and not by myself, and to see all the hard work of everyone I’ve been working with the last six months,” Hetrick said. “Everyone was so excited to be there and it was awesome to be there with them.”

The trials were divided into two “waves” in an effort to lessen the number of athletes competing at the same time. “Wave 2,” in which Hetrick competed, required faster qualifying times than “Wave 1.”

Hetrick had qualified for the first wave out of high school, but was just short of the time required for the second. After two stints out of the pool that each lasted for months, she began to doubt whether she could post a qualifying time low enough to secure her spot in Wave 2.

She missed nearly six months of training at the beginning of the pandemic before an injury kept her out for three more.

“I had expected (to qualify) going into college, but then I was out for three months with a concussion at the beginning of the (school) year,” Hetrick said. “The way I was swimming, I didn’t think I would get there. I had a meet in Indiana a couple months ago, right before trials, and made it by a couple tenths (of a second). It was really exciting.”

Hetrick completed her freshman year at Louisville in May, and at just 19 years old, will be a strong contender to return to the U.S. Team Trials in the next Olympic cycle. 

Her number one goal before then, however? Get faster.

“As much as I’d like to gas myself up and tell everyone what they want to hear, it wasn’t the best meet I’ve had,” Hetrick said of this year’s Trials. “I’ve swam better before. I can do better. It was amazing and it was awesome to go there, but I’ve still got a lot of work to do just like everyone else around me.”

Room for improvement, she said, was one of the main things she took away from the trials. Even the fastest swimmers at Omaha will be challenged by competition elsewhere in the world.

“By the time the next Olympic trials roll around, I’ll be almost 23 years old, and that’s my prime,” Hetrick said. “Everything past that, it’s hard to train your body. People can say that 23 is young, but practicing for six-plus hours a day when your body has been taking it that long is hard after that.”

Becoming an Olympian remains on Hetrick’s list of goals. Before getting there, however, she has a list of career boxes to check.

“Getting (to the trials) is one thing, but making the Olympics is a whole other ballgame,” Hetrick said. “The first step toward that is making the U.S. national team, and I’ve got a long way to go before I even get to that point.”

Training consistency, healthy eating and an improved sleep schedule are each factors that Hetrick identified as ways she will attempt to improve.

She compared training in swimming to climbing a metaphorical mountain. It’s not a straight incline, but rather a series of ups and downs.

“A lot of people hear the name and hear what I’m doing and automatically think the goal is the Olympics,” Hetrick said. “That’s something very long term. I’m not saying that it never happens, but where I’m at right now, it’s not something that’s in my headlights.”

Hetrick hopes to eventually swim fast enough, and consistently enough, to be selected for the U.S. national team, which competes semi-annually at swimming’s World Championships, the sport’s second-largest race.

Another option could be the International Swim League, an annual professional league in which Hetrick has had multiple teammates compete.

“Lots of people do that and still make money,” she said. “They didn’t make the Olympics, but they’re paid professional athletes with sponsors and they get to travel the world.”

Hetrick returned to Louisville after the trials, where she will continue to train for the rest of the summer in preparation for her sophomore season with the Cardinals.

“I’m really grateful for everything I’ve done, and I’m not done yet, but there are a lot of other things I can do that are amazing in swimming,” she said of her future plans, whether she finds her way to the Olympics or not. 

Whatever Hetrick’s next career step may be, it will be hard work that will get her there.

“I’ve watched teammates not be able to get there that their whole lives have relied on their natural abilities,” she said. “You need to work hard and focus on what you’re doing.”

As someone who has seized the opportunity to chase her goals, Hetrick’s message to others attempting to do the same was simple.

“A lot of people always ask me to talk about the talent aspect, but it’s a lot more than that,” she said. “If you have a goal like that, there’s nothing stopping you from doing it. You just need to be dedicated and commit to it.”