By Emma Dognin and Kayla Brogan
After years of rigorous practice, Claire Weinstein, a White Plains born seventeen-year-old, won silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay with Team USA in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Swimming has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Weinstein said. “When I was about four or five, my family joined a summer pool called Rocky Ledge. My mom always says I taught myself how to swim starting in the kiddy pool…swimming came naturally.”
She said that just as the NBA represents the pinnacle of basketball and the World Cup embodies the height of soccer, the Olympics stand as the ultimate stage for swimming.
“It’s always been the consensus that once every four years people care about swimming," Weinstein said. "I think every young competitive swimmer’s dream is to go to the Olympics."
Growing up, Weinstein idolized swimmers like Katie Ledecky, whom she watched in the 2016 Olympics and then again in the 2021 Olympics. Later, she would compete alongside them in Olympic trials and call many of them her close friends.
Olympic trials are no easy feat. “Dreams come true and…even more dreams are crushed,” Weinstein said.
The USA team was together in trials for around two months. They had a week to form a team and would later practice in two-week intervals moving from North Carolina all the way to Croatia.
“We really became a tight knit group by the time we arrived at Paris. We could all relate to each other on an athletic level, but also on a personal level," said Weinstein. "Fifty Olympic swimmers training together is a very special thing."
However, this wasn’t the beginning of Weinstein's swimming career. In middle school at Highlands, she was ecstatic to have the opportunity to try out for White Plains High School’s varsity team. In just seventh grade, she made it. Though she was a higher-level swimmer, she still looked up to her older teammates. She explained how high school swimming was less daunting than club swimming, and she was able to enjoy its lightheartedness. The team made it to the States.
Even during the pandemic, Weinstein was able to practice in her parents' swim school, which would become like her second home. Unfortunately, when fall came, Weinstein was not allowed on the school team, as the district had concerns about mixing the schools together. This did not phase her; she used her time to get into racing shape.
In 2021, she moved across the country to Las Vegas, Nevada to join the Vegas Sandpipers. The Vegas Sandpipers is a swim team that has produced approximately five other Olympic athletes and attracts high level high school swimmers.
“My parents [sought] them out. I knew I was going to have to move teams at some point to reach my goals because the one I was on did not have the resources," Weinstein said. "I love my age group coach, and she did so much for me, but it was a very small team…We looked at a couple of teams, but Sandpipers just made sense because they had just put four people on the Tokyo Olympic team, and they were also an age group team."
Weinstein never doubted her parents' unwavering support throughout her transition between swim teams, travels, and trainings. Her whole family traveled to Paris to watch her live out her dreams, cheering her on every step of the way.
“My family means everything to me, and they have always been so supportive of my journey," Weinstein said. "Specifically, my parents have always believed in me and encouraged me to chase my dreams."
However, competitive swimming naturally affected Weinstein's ability to lead a “normal” teenage life, and she acknowledged that Olympic athletes have to make sacrifices.
“At times, I have felt as though swimming was hindering me from experiencing the typical teenage and high school experiences," Weinstein said. "I didn't have the opportunity to socialize every day at school or attend parties on the weekend because of my rigorous training schedule and constant travel."
At times, Weinstein has wondered what her life would have been like if she had not made those sacrifices.
“Could I have made it to the Olympic team if I stayed in New York, attended White Plains High School, and continued swimming for the Westchester Aquatic Club?" Weinstein said. "Maybe. But at fourteen, I chose the path that offered the greatest chance of reaching my aspirations."
Weinstein has an intense daily training schedule consisting of practice early in the morning and throughout the afternoon and evening. All her countless hours practicing certainly paid off as on Thursday, August 1st, 2024, Weinstein found herself on the podium receiving an Olympic medal alongside many of her the athletes she had idolized growing up.
“It was very surreal," Weinstein said. "It kind of felt like a dream or an out of body experience because it was exactly how I envisioned it would look and feel."
Weinstein recalled first moving into the Olympic village with her teammates as one of her favorite memories from the games. She explained the process of getting there, checking in, finding their buildings, and getting situated.
“When we got to our rooms they were decked out in gear," Weinstein said. "It was so amazing, and it just made me realize how much actually goes into the Olympics."
When Weinstein dove into the pool for the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay, the race that earned her an Olympic silver medal, she described the moment as the culmination of years of planning and preparation; her body instinctively knew exactly what to do.
Weinstein explained that life post-Olympics seemed slow despite her constant travel, which included a recent visit to the White House.
“After closing ceremonies at the Olympics, I went straight to New York for a week to see my long-distance best friends," Weinstein said. "Then I was back in Vegas for a week and a half before I headed to Italy for Open Water World Juniors, which I qualified for back in April. Then from Italy I stopped in Florida to train with a team there and see some other friends. And now I am finally back in Vegas getting back to my usual routine."
Despite her busy schedule, Weinstein enjoys taking time out to journal. She loves writing her thoughts down as a way of decompressing at the end of the day. Next fall, Weinstein will continue her swimming and academic career at UC Berkley. She explained that making the Olympics was one of her biggest goals, but now she can focus on more personal goals.
“I’m going to get a good training block this fall and then I’m traveling to Asia for the World Cup swimming series," Weinstein said. "I am going to Hong Kong and Singapore which will be very cool. I also will be attending Worlds in Budapest in December and that should wrap up my racing for the 2024 year."
Weinstein's journey, from intense training to competing on the world stage, has proven that with unwavering dedication and self-belief, anything is achievable. She has left a legacy at White Plains High School as someone who not only dreamed of greatness but made it a reality.
“I never vocalized it because I am extremely superstitious, but I always had the feeling that I could achieve this success," Weinstein said. "Nevertheless, if given the chance to do it all again, I would unhesitatingly choose to be become an Olympic silver medalist at seventeen, over and over again."
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