Watch: Maya DiRado Post 200 Back Press Conference

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Maya DiRado must getting used to press conferences.  Tonight she became the first U.S. swimmer to qualify for this summer’s Olympic team in three different events, although she was quickly followed by legends Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky.  After winning the 200 back, DiRado spoke with the media about that race, what’s coming up next, her thoughts on the end of her career, and other topics.

DiRado on the next few weeks:

Yeah, Greg was quick to remind me, you have a practice coming up tomorrow morning, and coming back up, getting back in shape, that will be painful, but it’s a pain they’ll gladly accept because this week was so great.

DiRado intends to retire after Rio, and she reflected on tonight’s race being her last on U.S. soil:

[Elizabeth] Beisel and I were about to get in the warm-up pool, and I capped her, and she was thanking me and I was like, dude, this is the last time we’re going to wear these caps, and I’m like, oh my gosh, this is the last time I’m going to compete in a Stanford cap, so I kind of let that sink in for a second and then I had to push it aside and go back to my race. It was crazy! I’m glad that that’s how it ended and that that’s how I went out with an “S” on my cap.

On the attention and pressure she’ll now receive as a three-event champion:

…I think you can look at it as support and as a blessing, and listening to Michael up here just a second ago talking about how he’s grown the sport, like, we owe so much of that to him, and the fact that I was able to compete as a professional swimmer for the past two years and make a really comfortable living without having even been to an Olympics is a testament to what Michael has done with the sport of swimming.

Read the full transcript here.