Wednesday, 5/28/97 Traveling on golden Rhodes Olympian excels in
sport, school through own motivation
By Arin Aboulian Daily Bruin Contributor When one thinks about
an Olympic swimmer, the image of a scientist in a lab coat does not
come to mind. But then again, Annette Salmeen has always been the
exception. The 1996 Olympian has beaten her competition at every
level, from winning a city championship in the 25-yard butterfly
race at 8, to swimming on the golden 800-meter medley relay team in
the Atlanta Games. But her accomplishments in the swimming pool
only tell part of the story, for she also excels in the classroom.
As the result of her hard work, Salmeen has earned the Rhodes
scholar title and will be heading to Oxford, England at the end of
this summer, after she graduates in June. Salmeen’s swim career
began when she joined the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Swim Club at 7, along
with a group of her friends. Her mother recollects Salmeen’s early
experiences in the pool. "She could barely swim two lengths of the
pool when she tried out for the neighborhood team," her mother
said. "But she (had) placed third in the 25-yard ‘fly by the end of
that summer." Salmeen continued her success in swimming by
participating in the Junior Nationals at 13, and the National
Championships at 14. In 1992, after her success at the high school
level, she moved from Michigan to California to attend UCLA, where
she continued her successful career at the collegiate level. During
her eligibility as a Bruin swimmer, the four-time All-American was
the NCAA champion in the 200-meter butterfly and was also a bronze
medalist at the Japan World University Games. Salmeen surprised
everyone at Atlanta Olympic trials by winning the 200-meter
butterfly and placing fourth in the 200-meter freestyle, thus
earning a spot on the Olympic team in each event. At the Olympic
games, during the summer after her collegiate eligibility had
expired, she tied for 12th in the 200-meter butterfly and she was
also a part of the golden 800-meter medley relay team. But
Salmeen’s swim career has not always seen calm waters. The turning
point in her career came after the 1992 Olympic trials. After the
trials she had doubts in her mind about whether she should continue
swimming, "because swimming was always a daunting challenge for
me," Salmeen said. Part of the challenge was improving upon things
that already brought her a lot of success. In her junior year at
UCLA she changed her swimming stroke under the supervision of the
team’s newly hired assistant coach Byron Davis. But the change in
her stroke had its setbacks. She had a very disappointing NCAA
championship meet. But success was not too far away, as she went to
the World University Games and won the bronze medal in the 200
butterfly. What was more significant was a four-second drop in her
time in the 200 ‘fly. This success continued on to the Olympic
trial and the Olympics. Salmeen, when asked about the Olympics, was
unable to describe how she felt. "It was an absolutely amazing
experience," Salmeen said. "I can not put it into words." "We are
such a normal family that being at the ceremonies was absolutely
amazing," her mother said. "And it was hard to believe that our
child could be doing this." The highlight of the Olympics outside
of swimming was a trip to the women’s volleyball championship match
with Vice President Al Gore and his family. The most interesting
part, she said, was seeing high political leaders shouting and
screaming and getting excited over sporting events. Salmeen has not
let the Olympic experience go to waste in terms of sharing her
experience. She has really enjoyed talking to kids about it. "I
enjoy and try and to be responsible about being (an Olympian)," she
said. "I think the best thing I can do is to make myself available
for them and help (children) out as much as I can." She also helped
out with this year’s UCLA swim team as a volunteer assistant coach
on the team. "Annette has been great to have around," swimmer
Lindsay Etter said. "She has always helped us out with everything
we have needed help with. She has worked with me on an individual
basis, working on my stroke." "I have really gained a new respect
for the institution of coaching since working with the team,"
Salmeen said. "I love working with the team." Looking at all her
success leads a person to believe that Salmeen spends all of her
time in the pool, which isn’t the case. Just like the rest of us,
she is a student, and school is extremely important to her. She is
majoring in chemistry and has maintained a 3.94 GPA. She has also
been actively involved in research, working in a protein
crystallography lab on campus. "Science and school are my career
choices, and swimming has always been a hobby," Salmeen said. After
a pause she adds, "Swimming has been a very successful hobby." How
does she do it all? "(By) setting small goals for myself that I
want to achieve each day to get me through a lot of hard times."
Although she has been accused of being a "most regimented person,"
by her friends, she has enjoyed every minute of her busy life.
Swimming and school have always kept her busy, but Salmeen has
learned to relieve the pressure of one activity by doing the other.
But Salmeen is by no means satisfied. She has now set her sights on
becoming a biochemistry professor. Her scientific interest began by
talking to dad over dinner about how the dining room candles
burned, which led Salmeen to the Molecular Biology Institute and
will take her to Oxford. Her motivation has always been the will to
achieve as much as possible. "She has been going on her own
motivation," her mother said. "We have always asked our children to
do their best, and we have never pressured them into anything."
SHAWN LAKSMI/Daily Bruin Olympic swimmer and UCLA biochemistry
student Annette Salmeen, earned the Rhodes scholar title as a
result of her hard work in school. Previous Daily Bruin Stories:
Head of the class, July 7, 1996 Swimming tunes up to tackle
long-course