Former Auburn swimmer Tyler McGill was named volunteer assistant on Sept. 5. McGill was a part of Team USA along with Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in the 2012 London Olympics. McGill agreed to sit down with The Plainsman and discuss his future in the Olympics and as volunteer assistant for the Tigers.
You were unable to talk Sept. 14 because you were at the White House with Team USA. What did you do? Did you get to meet the president?
The Olympic and Paralympic teams were invited to the White House for a visit, so we traveled to Washington, D.C. on Thursday night and got up really early on Friday to drive over to the White House. They had a reception on the South Lawn for us, and then at 9:30 a.m. we all sat and watched the president, vice president and first lady come up on a stage and speak.
Afterward everyone got the opportunity to shake the president’s and vice president’s hand, and the first lady was giving out hugs, so it was really cool to meet them and say ‘thank you, it’s an honor to be here.’ It was something that we got to do a little bit of in 2007, when Auburn won its first title that I was here for, so to go back and do it again was nice. Different president, but equally as special to be there.
Representing the USA in the London Olympics and then meeting the president, did the process of training and achieving come full circle?
A little bit. It’s always a little surreal when you meet the president of the United States just because you know who he is and what he represents and how busy he is. You feel honored that he takes time out of his day to thank all of the Olympians and Paralympians for inspiring young athletes and young people across the country.
It was special to us because it’s special to him, considering how busy he is.
Having won a gold medal in the Olympics, what’s it like coming back to Auburn as a volunteer assistant coach?
Well, I’m still training ( for the 2016 Olympics), so I’ll be in the water. My volunteer job as a coach is a bit limited, but I’ll try to help out a little bit a couple of times during the week.
My goal is to be someone the athletes can look up to and talk to if they have questions about anything. Brett Hawke wanted to name me a volunteer assistant coach and asked me if I would be a volunteer assistant coach, and of course, with everything Auburn and Brett have done for me, it was easy to say yes.
So you’re training full time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil while being a volunteer assistant coach?
I am. My training schedule is a little hectic right now. I’m pretty much gone Friday, Saturday and Sunday of every week.
I get in the water when I can, trying to stay in the best shape as possible these first couple months so that when December and January rolls around, that can really kick in my training and I’ll be ready to go.
Your stroke of specialty is butterfly. What’s your training regimen like now?
Like I said, it’s just a matter of finding different ways to stay in shape, keeping my feel in the water so that it’s not a foreign way of working out when I start back in December and January.
I’m doing some yoga right now, playing with different things in the weight room, just having fun being an Olympian and doing all the things that come along with winning a medal. I’m very busy outside the pool, so I’m trying to do my best staying in shape and keeping a feel for the water, but also having a lot of fun at the same time.
With the football team not doing so great, will it be easier to encourage people to watch meets?
I think that when the football team is doing great, it brings attention to Auburn and it brings attention to how good Auburn is at so many other sports. Yes, it’s unfortunate that they’ve started the way have, but they’re trying everything they can. They prepare weekly to do the best they can, just like the guys here prepare all season long to be great at the end of the year.
Any attention that’s brought to Auburn and the swim program, whether it’s through the football team or other sports, is always positive here.
As a competitive swimmer and Olympian, you’ve gotten to travel all over the world. What’s been your favorite place to visit and why?
Mark Gangloff, myself, Lionel Moreau and Alana Dillett went to the French National Meet this past March in Dunkirk, France. We did a little bit of training in Paris first, and it was the first time that I’ve been able to go to a big competition without that competition being my focus meet of the year. So we got to enjoy the city a little bit more, walk around Paris and grasp the culture a bit.
Lionel is French, so he took us around and showed us a lot of cool things about the people and the culture there. I was with great friends, in a very relaxed atmosphere.
On Oct. 12, the swim team will compete against Alabama in an SEC dual meet. How excited are you for that?
Unfortunately, I will be out of town as I will be inducted into my high school’s hall of fame that week. Obviously, football sets up that rivalry, but it’s a little less intense in the swimming community.
We always look forward to racing them, however, because of the tradition that the schools have together. I’ll be excitedly watching from afar.
If you could tell the students of Auburn one thing, what would it be?
Come out and experience what a swim meet is like. There’s a lot of excitement and work that these athletes put into racing, so come see what that’s all about. Along the timeline of predictions, I think this team has a great opportunity to utilize leadership in its upperclassmen, and grow their good, young talent that have performed well in the past.
Obviously there’s a long way to go in the season, so I’m hoping that things will develop in the right way so those upperclassmen can lead the way they want to and are supposed to, and that the younger guys will find ways to improve and take Auburn to great places.
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