Thompson Comfortable in Her Role as Veteran

At 31, Jenny Thompson is feeling nostalgic.

In July, the 10-time Olympic medalist will compete for a trip to what would be the third and final Olympic Games of her career.

“I’m really enjoying it and trying to soak it up as much as possible,” she said Sunday after finishing third in the 100-meter butterfly at the Janet Evans Invitational in Long Beach.

Thompson took a break from competitive swimming after the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and resumed her career in 2002. And in December, the Stanford graduate took a semester break from her third year of medical school at Columbia to focus on swimming.

Despite being older than many of her competitors, Thompson said she feels better than ever.

“I feel great,” she said. “I wake up sore a little bit more that I used to, but overall I’m feeling wonderful.”

Thompson, who said she will retire after the short-course world championships at Indianapolis in October, said she doesn’t consider her age a disadvantage as she heads toward the trials.

“The more experience you have, the easier it is to know what to expect,” she said.

“I think the U.S. Olympic trials is probably the most intense meet in the world because there is so much depth. To actually make the team is quite a feat.”

Thompson has won eight Olympic gold medals, but none in an individual event. She hopes to give herself three chances in Athens by swimming in the 50-meter freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly in July at the Olympic trials in Long Beach.

Training for the Olympics, Thompson said, is similar to attending medical school -- a comparison she wrote about in her application to Columbia.

“Being an elite athlete and also training to be a doctor have the same work ethic -- obviously being able to stay the course and be committed to hard work,” she said.

Thompson, who competed only in the 100 butterfly in Long Beach, said she was disappointed with her time in the final, 59.21 seconds. But her coach, John Collins, said, that losing can be beneficial.

“It puts you in a more serious mood,” he said.

That mood might be necessary for the trials in July, when many swimmers expect the times to be extremely fast.