Cal Swimmer Sean Grieshop Prepares for National Championship -- He Hopes
* Latest in a series of periodic stories on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Cal athletes in different sports.
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Obviously losing the opportunity to earn a second straight national team championship last March was disappointing for Cal's men's swimmer Sean Grieshop, but the restricted behavior necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic did provide one benefit:
He perfected his handstand.
"I spent pretty much the entire quarantine working on my handstand," Grieshop said, "and I can definitely say that they are significantly better than they were three or four months ago."
**Greishop discusses perfecting the handstand
His focus now, of course, is on swimming as he and his Cal teammates got back in the water after The City of Berkeley recently gave them the go-ahead to return to the pool.
"Man, it feels amazing to be back in Berkeley training and getting rolling," he said.
It's unclear exactly what they are training for, though. Although their fall swimming season was canceled, the Bears still hope the NCAA men's swimming championships will be held in Greensboro, N.C., in March and that the Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo in the summer.
**Greishop talks about getting back in the pool in Berkeley
Last March, the Bears' bid to claim a second straight NCAA title and seventh overall was halted about a week before they were to leave for the national championships in Indianapolis. That's when all spring sports were canceled because of the pandemic.
"We were definitely very upset because we were very confident that after our Pac-12 showing that we were going to have a very great NCAA," Grieshop said.
He had finished second in the 1650 freestye and third in the 400 individual medley at the 2020 Pac-12 championships, helping the Cal men finish first as a team.
Photo by Tim Binning
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But then came the long period of shelter-in-place and uncertainty. Grieshop chose to remain in Berkeley rather than return home to Texas, finishing up spring classes and taking a class during the summer.
Men's swimming coach David Durden was able to find a few remote places where swimmers could get in the water occasionally while still abiding pandemic protocols, and a backyard home gym helped Grieshop stay fit.
"I think my fitness level really did increase, because we were working on things outside of the pool that we wouldn't have done in a regular year," he said.
Water touches decreased, so the emphasis was more on tiny elements that can make a difference.
"I focused on little details that we tend to forget during the monotonous training that we go through in the regular cycle of a year," he said.
Grieshop, a senior, is back to the grind now, and though he does not know whether there will be a national championship in the spring, he plans to return in the fall of 2021 to take some courses to complete his Cal degree.
Back in late July, Durden said he would consider red-shirting the entire roster in 2020-21 -- a path Arizona State has taken -- only if it became necessary.
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