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Swimmer Lilly King, diver Tyler Downs talk about their Olympics prep

The pandemic caused some training challenges for Lilly King that forced her to spend a lot of time in a car while diver Tyler Downs

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Preparing for the 2020 games after they were delayed for the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge for many athletes.

Indiana University swimmer and two-time gold medalist Lilly King was no different.

She was forced to train in a public pool in Martinsville, Ind. to stay in condition.

"I feel like for every single person it's been just a crazy year, you know," King said. "I like to refer to it as the year we were in driving practice because I just feel like we were in the car all summer."

King said her IU teammates made the challenging training environment enjoyable.

"I've got a really, really great support group here and and this team is fantastic and we're family," King said. "They definitely made it a lot more fun than it probably could have been. We make each other better and we're great racing partners which I think is something a lot of people don't ever talk about."

Diver Tyler Downs will attend Purdue University after the Olympics.

He told 13Sports that the mental game is a big part of his preparations.

"We've done like a month of [mental] programs like everyday," Downs said. We also have sports psychologists that we talked to."   

Downs believes the sports psychologist sessions help him focus.

"Letting him know what we think and how we should just change our mindset to just be focused," Downs said. "It's all about staying in the moment."

Downs punched his ticket to Tokyo by besting the three-time Olympian and gold medalist from Noblesville, David Boudia in the 3-meter springboard.

King will try to defend her gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke and will also compete in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 4x100-meter medley relay. 

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