Katie Hoff’s ambitious program at the Beijing Olympics has earned her the tag of the female Michael Phelps, but the swimmer Phelps calls his “little sister” can’t quite see it that way.
“I saw an article asking, ‘Can Katie beat Michael to the record?’ and my mouth dropped,” Hoff said. “Because Michael has world records and is ranked first in a lot of events.”
“I’m just going to keep taking one race at a time and whatever shakes out will happen,” she said.
That’s a bit of characteristic modesty from the 19-year-old, who grew up swimming with Phelps’s onetime club, North Baltimore Aquatic.
After all, Hoff is a two-time World Champion in both the 200m and 400m individual medleys, as well as in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
At the US trials in Omaha, she sent a clear signal to Australian rival Stephanie Rice by reclaiming the 400m medley world record Rice had seized at the Australian trials in March.
Like Phelps, Hoff qualified in five individual events at the US trials, although she’ll call it a day with six total events including the the 4x200m free.
Hoff’s Beijing Games promise to offer a far different experience from Athens, when at 15 years and two months she was the youngest member of the entire US delegation.
She had thrust herself into the spotlight at the US trials that year, when she posted the fastest time in the world for the season in the 400m medley.
Hoff admits she was “scared to death” in the ready room before her first race, the 400m medley.
She finished 17th in those heats and shortly after she clambered out of the pool she punctuated the dismal performance by throwing up on the deck.
She managed to improve in the 200m medley, finishing seventh in the final, but now recalls that even that race went by in a haze.
“My body was there, but I didn’t feel like I was there mentally,” she said. “It was like a dream to me.”
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