When she dives into the pool in Federal Way, Wash. today for her first heat in the 200 backstroke — 12 years later — it will be as one of the top swimmers in the nation. The meet represents her first ever USA National Championship meet but her second national platform appearance this year.
Miller, who just a few short months ago attended her third Junior National swim competition in Seattle, returns to the city this week with her Irish Aquatics coach Will Burnhardt II for yet another national swim at the AT&T Short Course National Championships as one of the top swimmers in the nation.
The national time trials for club swimmers around the country isn’t quite the Olympic trials, but it is just one notch below and definitely within sight. In fact, she’ll be in Olympic company at today’s meet.
Among the swimmers expected to compete at the Weyerhaueser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash. are 2008 U.S. Olympians Rebecca Soni, Margaret Hoelzer, Eric Shanteau, Dana Vollmer and Katie Hoff, as well as former Olympic gold medalists Garrett Weber-Gale and Peter Vanderkaay.
Miller qualified for the national trials by posting a time of 2:01 in the 200 backstroke at the Senior State for club swimmers earlier in the year. Qualifying in one event makes her eligible to compete in two others, and Miller will also be in the pool for the 100 backstroke and the 200 Individual Medley.
In her main event — the 200 backstroke — Miller’s time places her 33rd in the nation. She isn’t paying much attention to her ranking.
“In this event your time is more important than your place,” she said. “You have swimmers at this level touching each other out all the time. It’s about the time you swim.”
And she has her sights firmly on that.
“I have a goal time of 1:55,” she said, quite a drop in time at this level of competition. “I’ve had morning and afternoon sessions of meets where I’ve been able to drop seven seconds from morning to night. It’s doable. I just have to make it happen.”
For a teenager that spends about five hours a day in the water in the summertime and usually three to four when swimming for PHS in the winter, it’s that focus that is the biggest challenge.
“When you’re at this keeping that focus all year long can be tough,” Miller admitted. “There’s really only a month or so a year I’m not competing, so keeping that all year long is tough. You have stretches where things aren’t going so well for you and you wonder ‘What’s the point?’ but you always have those other stretches where you’re winning and it’s easy and you love it.”
Swimming for Plymouth High School and Irish Aquatics in South Bend, Miller’s career began with the Sharks Swim Club in Plymouth.
“Leanne (Senter, Sharks Coach) came up to me today and asked if I still had my goal sheet from when I swam for her,” said Miller. “She showed it to me and it said I wanted to be in the Olympics someday. I remember asking her not to show that to anybody because I thought people might think it was weird for a kid that little to want to be in the Olympics... but I really did.”
She’s also aware of the dedication of an Olympian.
“I read in ‘Splash’ magazine about those guys spending seven to eight hours a day in the pool. I mean that’s a whole day,” she said. “Then I realize that I’m in the pool five hours in the summer already and if it’s just the matter of a few more hours I think I could do that.
“I’ve got the rest of high school and then four years of college. I hope I can get there in that time.”
And just how close has she been to the Olympics so far?
“At a meet I was at I got to lead the finalists up to the podium and I was within five feet of Michael Phelps. Does that count?”
Footage from the meet will air nationally on NBC on Saturday, Dec.12 from 2 to 3 p.m.