Cheer on kinesiology student during Rio Olympics
Four years ago, Brittany MacLean’s life was full of firsts.
She had just graduated from high school. The native of Canada was about to start her freshman year at the University of Georgia. And she was competing in her first Olympics.
Now more established on the international swimming scene, MacLean, who is entering her fifth year in the College of Education pursuing a sport management degree, is preparing for her second Olympics. She leaves for Rio de Janeiro on Friday feeling excited and even more confident than she did four years ago.
It’s definitely different (this time) … I was just out of high school and everything was new to me," she said in a phone interview from Toronto, where she is visiting her parents before leaving for the games. “I made the finals, though, which was unexpected and exciting. But this time, I guess I’m a bigger name in the field; I’ve been competing internationally, and it’s a different training atmosphere. I appreciate that it takes a little bit more.