World champion swimmer Trenton Julian chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about his latest endeavors.
Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” This quote applies to 24-year-old swimmer Trenton Julian.
He won the bronze medal in the 200 meter IM at the 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships with a time of 1:57.94. “That felt good, it was all right. It was a little bit of a rough meet for me with some ups and downs but I took it as experience. This was my first year after moving, so I am trying to get ready for the next step at this point. I will be ready for next time,” Julian said.
After five years, he shared that he graduated from the University at California, Berkeley last summer. “It was really weird, I was in a five block range of where I lived and where my teammates were so to come to a new place on the pro side where my teammates are not in a three-minute walk was a pretty big learning curve for the first couple of months, but I’ve gotten used to it now,” he said.
On his future plans, Julian remarked, “Right now, I am staying here in Mission Viejo. I got back into training right away, and I am feeling pretty good despite the letdown from the nationals. I will be actually going to the Irvine TYR Pro Championships in Irvine, California, in a few weeeks.”
“Recently, I have been enjoying breaststroke a lot,” he admitted about his favorite stroke in swimming. My mom was a breaststroker and she has been helping coach our group. Obviously, I stick with butterfly as my best stroke and what I am known for,” he said.
On his daily motivations, he said, “After every meet that I go to, I hate losing. I don’t think I’ve had the meet yet where I’ve put the races that I wanted to so I keep working to get to that point. Obviously, I still want to win pretty badly.”
He is super-excited about next year’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials next year, so that he can hopefully punch his ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympics. “I feel I am in a pretty good spot for it,” he said.
“I am excited for this next year, as well as to keep training and racing this next summer in order to get to Paris,” he added.
He revealed that his father, swimming coach Jeff Julian (who is a two-time Stage 4 lung cancer survivor), is doing “awesome.” “My dad loves coaching the pro group, it is a lot less of a team manager role that he had before, so he is enjoying being able to stick with our group and lead the different pros,” he said.
For young and aspiring swimmers, he said, “Keep having fun with it. Don’t lose the drive and the passion for swimming, that is what will keep you going. Listen to coaches and try to understand what they are telling you.”
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, “Trust the Process.” “That’s a big thing we are doing right now,” he said.
Regarding his definition of the word success, he said, “Meeting personal goals, and being in a personal understanding of where you are in your life. Having success in swimming and in life is important for the growth side.”
Rapid Fire Questions
He also took some time to answer some “Rapid Fire” questions.
Waffles or pancakes? Waffles
Flying or driving? Flying
City living or country living? Country living
Summer or winter? Summer
Library or museum? Library
Bath or shower? Shower
Pepsi or Coke? Coke
Texting or calling? Texting
Half-full or half-empty? Half-full
Curly fries or normal fries? Normal fries
Skydiving or scuba diving? Scuba diving
Indoor pool or outdoor pool? Outdoor pool
Tea or coffee? Coffee
Rain or snow? Snow
Singing or dancing? Singing probably
Burgers or tacos? Burgers
Long course or short course pool? Long course pool
Money or fame? Money
To learn more about world class swimmer Trenton Julian, follow him on Instagram.
