The Midway is featuring athletes, selected at random, from school teams for informal interviews about their sports. Saanvi Chitneni is a sophomore on the girls swimming and diving team. Saanvi’s responses have been lightly edited for clarity, style and length.
How long have you been swimming?
“I’ve done swimming lessons before, and stopped at COVID, but I started competitively swimming in ninth grade.”
Why did you decide to begin swimming?
“I think it was mostly my dad who wanted me to start doing sports, so he told me I should do a sport in high school. I think it was a way to get outside of my comfort zone. I chose swimming because I don’t like running, and I already enjoyed swimming previously.”
What’s one thing in your gear bag you can’t live without and why?
“My paddles, because they help me get stronger when I work on freestyle. Sometimes I put them on backward so I can pull harder.”
Who is the one artist you have to listen to as you get ready for a meet, and why?
“I mostly listen to movie soundtracks because they try to make the hero feel like they can do anything, so some lyrics are very motivating.”
If you could design your own swimsuit, what would it look like?
“Right now our swimsuits are black, I’d have it be maroon instead. I think that’s the only change I’d make.”
What’s your favorite pregame snack?
“I like to eat pasta, and I know it’s not a snack, but I don’t really have snacks, so the meal before is usually pasta. It gives me a lot of energy.”
If you could meet one professional athlete, who would it be and why?
“Katie Ledecky, because she’s accomplished a lot and broken a lot of records, and her accomplishments are more recent. I’d want to know her thought process.”
What is the biggest challenge for you regarding swimming?
“I think there’s a lot of pressure put on you to always go faster and decrease your time. It’s very easy to end up comparing your time to other people’s, and I think the important thing is to stop comparing yourself. I personally compare myself a lot.”
What’s your favorite way to prepare for a competition?
“I think it’s just practice. For me, the warmup before the meet really helps because it reminds me I know what I’m doing, and practicing your dive is important, too. It just helps to get rid of the fear if you practice more.”
What’s your favorite part of being on the swimming and diving team?
“Generally, I think the best thing about the team is the people on the team. I think no matter what kind of person you are, they’ll always accept you. It’s a very good community, and that’s hard to find in such an individual sport. The best part is conversations in between sets and before getting in the pool.”
