No offseason for Forbes' 100, 200
Camryn Forbes knows no offseason when it comes to swimming.
That’s the kind of work ethic needed if you want to get to where she is going.
The 16-year old resident of Penn Township qualified for the Summer Olympic Trials, to be held in Omaha, Neb. in June 2016. While there, she will swim the 100 and 200-yard backstroke events.
Forbes punched her ticket to Omaha when her time in both events made the exclusive cut at last summer’s YMCA Long Course National Championships in Indianapolis.
“We didn’t find out until September that she qualified, but we were pretty sure she did because she was over a second faster than the 2012 cut in both events,” said Butler YMCA coach Alex Fertelmes.
“It was about three years ago when Camryn decided she wanted to start training to make the trials,” he added. “She has made a commitment to her goals and works extremely hard. If she really wants to do something, she does it.”
Forbes’ abilities in the pool have evolved since she began to swim competitively in the first grade.
“The backstroke is my best event, but it wasn’t always that way,” she said. “Up until I was 12, I was really good in the butterfly. It was a few years ago that I started to make a lot of progress in the back.”
This season has been a memorable one for Forbes, who recently won state YMCA titles in the 400 individual medley and 200 freestyle at Penn State University.
“She’s done really well this year,” said Fertelmes. “She has very good body positioning in all of her events, but especially in the backstroke.
“For the last few years, she has really been developing when it comes to the mental aspect of the sport.”
The Olympic Trials are over a year away, but Forbes has enough on her schedule to keep her busy. It starts with the YMCA Short Course National Championships, which begin Monday in Greensboro, N.C.
Individually, she will be competing in the 100 and 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle and 200 IM.
While she is making her fourth trip to this meet, she refuses to take anything for granted.
“Nerves still come into play for me,” she said. “I’ve been trying to be more confident in my swimming. I just focus on the fact that I’m doing something I love.”
Despite her humble approach, Forbes has set the bar high for herself in Greensboro.
“I want to win the 100 back. To do that, I’ll have to drop a second off of my time (54.66 seconds),” she said. “In the 200 back, I just want to drop my time (1:58.6). I want to make the finals in all of my events.
“At nationals, there’s a lot of parents and fans,” she added. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Over the past decade, Forbes has grown to truly embrace the sport.
“I just love swimming,” she said. “I’ve had great coaches and great teammates. If it wasn’t for them, it wouldn’t have been as fun for me.”
