For Olympic rookie Keanan Dols, the experience is the fulfilment of a lifetime goal.
When Keanan Dols swims for Jamaica at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, he will be joining an elite group of people.
K. Dols Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
After setting a new national record in the 200-meter individual medley in April at the 2021 Pro Swim Series in California with a time of 2 minutes and 2.15 seconds, the 22-year-old will be flying to Japan to compete.
Only seven men in Jamaica’s history have qualified as swimmers, and he is only the third to do so since the turn of the century.
For Dols, “it’s been a surreal experience to be honest,” as he put it to the Observer. As a child, all I wanted to do was compete for Jamaica in the Olympics.
Dols, originally from Savanna-La-Mar, went to Florida, United States, when he was very young; his mother managed a swimming club in Negril, so he looked destined to become a swimmer from an early age.
He remembered her as the person who “formed the Negril Wave Runners and ran that squad till we departed.” She was a swimmer in her youth and a coach afterward, so I grew up around water and learned to swim from her.
While the postponement of the Tokyo Games until 2021 was met with dismay from many athletes, it provided Dols with some much-needed downtime.
His knee had been bothering him in 2020, and “the extra year really helped me be confident that my legs were going to be in form and what they needed to be because I was able to fully recuperate,” he said.
“I feel that if the games had gone on in 2020, I still would have been able to swim at a very high level,” said Phelps. “But the extra year gave me the confidence to know that I can do this, that I can go these times, and that I can do what I need to do to qualify.”
Dols doesn’t Expect to win a Medal at the Olympics, but he does hope to Improve on his Personal best.
In the words of the man himself: “I’m excited to go and race the best in the world, give it all I have, and just have fun racing.” “I swam fast earlier this year; all I want to do is beat my time from April,” he said.
Dols is indebted to Alia Atkinson, the “swim queen” of Jamaica who is about to compete in her fifth Olympic Games.
He Praised her, Saying,
“She’s a terrific inspiration, and she’s the example that each young athlete in Jamaica should try to be. She’s amazing, and she should be an inspiration to all young swimmers. She has done so much to pave the way for others.
Dols is scheduled to make her Olympic debut in the 200-meter individual medley heats on July 28. The Tokyo Games are scheduled to take place between July 21 and August 8.