All right, let's start with the basics. My name is Heather Arseth and this blog is about me and my journey throughout the London 2012 Olympic Games. I will be swimming for a country called Mauritius. Okay, let's just back this up a bit. We need to start with some background before we get talking Olympics, so here's where it all began:
In terms of swimming, I pretty much swam right out of the womb. I flew through swimming lessons and began competition team at the age of 7. Sometimes though, I got fed up with the cold water and would go back to swimming lessons for a few weeks where the teachers had no idea what to do with me so I literally just swam circles around the other kids... it was worth the warm water. Eventually, I moved to Aquajets Swim Team. In fact, one of my other teammates from Aquajets, Rachel Bootsma, will also be going to London to represent the US for the 100m backstroke. When it was time to choose a college, I knew I wanted to go D1 and who doesn't love the B10 conference? So of course I chose the University of Iowa! It's been a long road and a lot of hard work to get to where I am today, but I think it will all be worth it.
When it comes to racial background, I am a mut. I am pretty much a mix of everything and to be honest, I don't even know exactly how much I am of which races. My dad was born here in America where my family lives today, but to my knowledge he's part Swedish and part Polish. My mom was born in Mauritius - now here's where it gets tricky. Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean (somewhat off the coast of Madagascar). My mother is also Chinese. Now where all of this puts me, I have NO idea. But that is irrelevant. The point is, I have Dual Nationality/Dual Citizenship for the United States and Mauritius. In the 2012 Olympic Games, I will be given the opportunity to represent my mom's home country of Mauritius.
Commonly Asked Questions:
Q: Will you fly to Mauritius first, or just go straight to London?
A: Well to get to Mauritius, you take two flights... the layover is in London... so no, I will not be traveling from America to London and then to Mauritius only to go back to London. I will leave the US on Friday, the 20th of July and go straight to London.
Q: Have you ever been to Mauritius?
A: I have been there more times than I can count. It began my sophomore year of high school when my mom wanted to take me to see where she grew up. So we spent the summer there and as any swimmer knows, you can't take a whole year off of swimming and expect to be where you were at when you left. So I trained with the national team and that's where everything began. I went back multiple times after that - one of which was before the World Championships in Shanghai. I didn't know it at the time, but my race in Shanghai would determine whether or not I would make it to London.
Q: How were you chosen to represent Mauritius?
A: Mauritius is different from the US in the sense that only 2 people can be sent for each sport (typically 1 female and 1 male). Seeing as there are multiple swimming events, you couldn't possibly have 'trials' for one spot - there would be different winners depending on the event. So Mauritius has what is called a 'selection'. However, it's not exactly as it sounds. At the Shanghai World Championships 3 Mauritius swimmers were sent (2 female, 1 male) to compete. We didn't know it at the time, but FINA was watching the results and using those times to determine who would qualify for the Olympic Games. The selection process from here is a little difficult to explain via blog, but I think you get the general idea.
Q: What event(s) will you be swimming?
A: Because I qualified with the 200 Freestyle at the Shanghai World Championships, that is the event that I will be swimming in London.
Anyway, that's about it! I will use this blog to keep anyone who is interested updated on my journey throughout the Olympics. Questions are welcome!
SHOUT OUTS:
Cubes: University of Iowa alum - This chick is the reason for the title of this blog. But let's be honest, it took us longer to think it up than it should have.
Madre: Well the only reason I semi-know how to blog is because my mom had me do one on my first trip to Mauritius. And of course I couldn't have gotten to where I am today without her.
Frannie: U of I coach - gave me the idea for the blog in the first place!
