'No emotions': How Russian Olympian Elizaveta Klevanovich has used a cold-minded mentality to heat up her times as Auburn's ace sprinter
Klevanovich helps lead Auburn's 200 medley relay into the Alabama meet Friday, for a rivalry showdown which will feature two teams with top-10 times nationally in the 200 medley relay this season.
For Elizaveta Klevanovich, there are no feelings in the water.
“You have to be just in a cold mind, you know?” Auburn’s ace sprinter and Olympian from Russia explained. “No emotions.”
It’s not like she has time for them anyway. Her races are finished in less than 23 seconds in her top event, the 50-yard freestyle. It’s a mad dash, a burst of intensity that turns the pool into a bubbling cauldron each meet, and sends the aquatics center into a roar. It’s fast. It’s frenetic. But in Klevanovich’s mind, there’s only focus.
“I’m not trusting my feelings because sometimes you can feel really good in the water but your time’s really bad. So it can be tricky. So, no feelings when you swim,” she laughed. “It’s all about brain.”
Klevanovich holds a top-15 time nationally in the 50 free and anchors Auburn’s 200 medley relay team which currently holds a top-10 time nationally.
Klevanovich and Auburn will face Alabama for the rivalry meet at 3 p.m. Friday in Tuscaloosa, marking the Tigers’ last high-intensity dual before the SEC Championships and ultimately the NCAA Championships.
There at the national championships, Klevanovich aims to score for the Tigers in both her individual race and the relay, and close her collegiate career with All-American honors.
With the way she has been swimming — and with that cold-mind mentality driving her in the pool — Klevanovich seems to be position to do just that.
Getting faster and faster
Auburn head coach Ryan Wochomurka attributes at least part of Klevanovich’s improvement this season to her work with a new addition to the coaching staff, Arilson Silva. That improvement has been tangible: