I’m honored to feature Kara in the Strong Girl Spotlight this week! Kara recently reached out to me on Instagram after coming across The Strong Movement. We met up for a spin class and lunch when she last visited Orange County on a work trip and we instantly connected and became friends! She is so sweet and humble and has major Olympic accomplishments under her belt….she competed in the Olympics 3 times! I’m excited for everything she is doing now, especially her dedication to mentoring young teenage girls! Read her story for some serious inspo! And, follow her on Instagram!

Tell us about yourself!

Hey! Thank you for bringing me into your Strong Girl Spotlight, I’m honored!  I retired from professional swimming about 5 years ago and began working a LOT with teenage girl swimmers.  I was part of a movie (documentary) that came out about 3 years ago called “Touch The Wall” and it highlighted my friendship and mentorship with my fellow Olympic teammate Missy Franklin.  “Touch The Wall” changed my world a lot because it’s the only true swimming documentary and it’s become almost a cult classic within the swimming community! It’s available on iTunes and Netflix ☺ After working with teenage girls for many years in all different environments, I decided to create my own environment and place to bring girls together to talk about all things girl and swimming.  I have some incredible speakers coming to my inaugural summit this Labor Day weekend in Austin, TX and I really think we’re going to blow it out of the water!

What does Strong mean to you and what makes you a Strong Girl?

Strong means a lot of things to me.  After retiring from being a professional athlete, “strong” took on an entirely new meaning.  For years, I trained, fueled and rested my body to become as strong as I possibly could in order to move through the water with speed and efficiency.  After swimming ended, I needed a new definition of “strong.”  Now I train, fuel and rest my body to keep myself healthy, active and fit.  I will never workout for 4-6 hours/day again and because of that, I had to come to terms with the changes in my body.  Today, 5 years after retirement, I have found balance in my body, and I truly love my body for what it did, what it does and what it can do.  Strong is physical but it is also mental and I love that I consider myself a tall, strong, capable woman!  I can walk into a gym and dominate a workout but I can also walk into a board room or keynote speech feeling strong and confident in what I am doing and how I present myself.

What do you love about The Strong Movement?

I love Ailis and what she’s built with The Strong Movement!  I sought her out and chased her down to basically be my friend bc I have such a girl crush on her.  I love that her mission is to build a community for women and help them grow into strong, confident women physically and mentally!

How has healthy living increased your confidence and self-esteem?

Healthy living isn’t a fad or a diet or a phase, it is a constant way of life.  I think as women we can be too hard on ourselves for not being perfect all the time – not always making healthy eating choices, skipping the gym, having a big night out etc.  Life is about balance though and maintaining a healthy mindset and constantly striving to maintain a healthy life is all part of the balancing act.  My daily routine involves a morning smoothie (Green Blender for the win!) and a workout.  Whatever happens after that, whether my lunch is a salad or a pizza, it’s okay because I started off my day with the best intentions and can work through my day with confidence and zen even if things don’t go as I planned.  

When did you discover swimming and realize/decide you wanted to go all the way and compete at the Olympic level?

I started swimming when I was 5 years old because my two older brothers were on the local swim team.  When I was seven, I watched the 1992 Olympics on tv with my mom and decided that someday I was going to be an Olympic Swimmer too.  After years of hard work, ups and downs, I made my first Olympic Team in 2004 at the age of 18.  I was very fortunate to be able to pursue swimming for as long as I wanted to and after my 3rd Olympics in 2012, I decided to retire.  

What were your Olympic experiences like?

My Olympic experiences were all different and I often get asked “which Games were my favorite, ’04, ’08, or ’12.”  That’s like asking a parent which child they love most 😉  My Olympic experiences all came at different times in my life and all shaped me into the person I am today. I love traveling the country (and sometimes the world) sharing my experiences and my story and hopefully inspiring the next generation of little girl swimmers to pursue their dreams too, because even if you don’t get as far as you had hoped, the journey will be more than worth it.  

Tell us about what you do now and the LEAD Summit!

Yes, LEAD!  I founded the LEAD Sports Summit in April 2017 with the goal of putting on my very first event this Labor Day weekend, Sept 2-4, 2017.  I wanted a way to bring together as many girls as I could (we have 80!) and bring in some incredible, inspirational women in swimming to help empower and mentor these teenage girls to become strong, confident Leaders in their sport, their communities and their schools!

What do you wake up looking forward to and excited about every day?

When you’re an entrepreneur, every day presents a new and different challenge – which I love.  I look forward to meeting with different businesses that want to get involved with LEAD, I look forward to speaking with parents that are sending their girls to my event, and I look forward to planning the best summit I possibly can!

Do you have any daily rituals? What’s a day in your life like?

What’s one healthy, positive habit that you’re proud of?

I think I’m most proud of my workout routine.  It was so difficult to find a purpose to workout again after retiring from professional sports (I think any retired pro athlete can attest to that) but after years of trying, I’ve truly found what works for me and I think it makes me more focused, more confident and a better all-around woman.

What keeps you motivated when the going gets tough?

My background in swimming was a great launching pad into my life in business now.  I have been through some extremely difficult days as an athlete, some grueling workouts and mental challenges – nothing I’ve done in business has been harder than my hardest days as an athlete and I think that helps me to keep moving forward when the going gets tough.  

What challenges or experiences have helped shape who you are and have contributed to building your Strong Mind?

Training for my 3rd Games was probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on.  At the time, there was only 6 or 7 US women that had ever competed in three Olympic Games – it’s not easy!  Learning to trust my gut and make moves or decisions weren’t easy is what brought me to the 2012 London Olympics.  I switched coaches less than 3 months before Olympic Trials (unheard of) because I knew I wasn’t in the right place at the time to make the Team was a huge risk but I trusted my instinct and it paid off.  

What do you love about your mind and body?

My mind and body work in sync every day and I love that.  I learned as a swimmer how to train both my mind and body to work well together, get out of each other’s way when needed, and create harmony to push myself to the absolute limit.

What is your mantra/philosophy you live by?

When I was training and my coach would throw a really hard or challenging set my way, as I was grinding out the yardage in the pool I used to repeat to myself “this too shall pass” and it helped me be present in the moment and realize the pain, the breathlessness, the burning in my muscles would pass and I would be better for it.  When I am going through challenging times now, I know “this too shall pass” and I will come out on the other side stronger for it.  

You’ve followed your heart and have worked hard to make your dreams a reality…. What advice do you have for other Strong Girls?

Keep Dreaming!  Having dreams and passions, whatever they are, and goals you are trying to achieve is what living is!  I struggled to find my passion again after swimming ended but I didn’t stop believing there was still something greater out there for me.  I am a huge believer in dreaming big and once you achieve that? Keep dreaming bigger!  It keeps you creative and hungry!