A University of Nebraska Wesleyan student got to show off her swimming talents on the biggest stage in sports over the weekend. 19-year-old Kayla Hepler is a native of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a tiny series of Pacific islands and atolls roughly halfway between Hawaii and Australia.
She swam in the 50-meter freestyle event on Saturday and finished second in her heat with a time of 30:03. KLIN News talked to Hepler in Paris on Monday and she says being there was a magical experience. “It’s so awesome. All the people here are so nice and so helpful and meeting new athletes every day is a very fun thing,” Hepler says.
She says the butterflies began building a couple of days before she hit the water on Saturday. “And then when it came to the day of, I woke up very nervous, but very excited. I was trying to mentally prepare myself, just listening to some music to hype me and get me in the zone,” Hepler says.
“And then when I was walking out there, hearing the crowd, it really hit me. Like, I’m actually in the Olympics, this is my time to, you know, shine.” Hepler says when she got up to the block her arms and legs were shaking.
“So, I just had to really just tell myself, just swim your best. Swim your fastest. And then when I saw my time at the end, I was very shocked with how fast I went,” Hepler says. “But I’ve been training for this moment, so, overall, I’m really proud of myself and really happy to be here.”
She tells KLIN she was also proud to be representing her country in Paris. “Being able to represent my country and be able to travel places to show people where I’m from and just to be able to swim for my country. And although we don’t have very many swimmers, being one of the only swimmers from our country is a really big opportunity for me.”
Hepler comes from a family of swimmers and she is following in her sister’s footsteps. Annie Hepler competed in the 2012 Olympics in London and recorded a personal best. Hepler says her sister
is like a second coach and provided tips for what the experience might be like. “We are very, very close. She was so excited for me, saying how her little sister is going to be
able to compete in the Olympics.”
Hepler will head back home to Nebraska on Tuesday with a lifetime of memories and friendships and the realization of a lifetime dream. She’s set to graduate from Nebraska Wesleyan University in December with a degree in early childhood education.
(Photos: Courtesy Nebraska Wesleyan University)