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Jay Litherland: 5 Things To Know About The Olympic 400 IM Swimmer

By Sandra Johnson
Published on: 13:33 PST, Jul 16, 2016

Jay Litherland claimed his spot to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games when he finished second in the 400-meter individual medley at the Olympic swimming trials. In the past, the 400 IM has been owned in the United States by greats such as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, so Litherland has big shoes to fill — but the 20-year-old from Georgia believes he’s up to the challenge.

Below, you’ll find five fast facts about 400 IM swimmer Jay Litherland.

1. Litherland is terrible at other sports.

Litherland got started in swimming when he was eight because he “was awful at every other sport,” he said on his USA Swimming bio. Litherland admits that, even as an adult, he’s still rather clumsy when he’s not in the pool. While talking to WNYT News in Albany, New York, Jay Litherland said his clumsiness contributes to his dislike of training that takes place outside of the pool.

“I’m pretty bad on land. Anything to do with dry land I’m pretty bad at. That’s what I don’t really like.”

2. For the Litherlands, swimming is a family sport.

Jay is one of a set of triplets, and his brothers also swim with him at the University of Georgia. When he competed at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials earlier this summer, Litherland was not alone: his brothers, Kevin and Mick, also competed at the trials, though neither Kevin, nor Mick qualified for the Olympic team.

Additionally, Litherland said that both of his parents were swimmers in high school.

3. Litherland began swimming when he was about 8-years-old.

Jay’s parents, Andrew and Chizuko, opted to enroll their sons in swimming when they were young simply because the boys always loved swimming in the backyard pool, Litherland said.

“It was probably around eight years old, and we just loved the water,” Litherland told ESPN’s College Crush before the Olympic trials. “We had a pool in our backyard and always loved swimming in it. So finally our parents thought we should get into organized swimming. It kind of just took off from there.”

4. Litherland has triple citizenship and speaks a foreign language.

Litherland, who speaks Japanese, spent his childhood living all over the world. He’s an official citizen of three countries: the United States, Japan, and New Zealand. The Litherland boys were born in Japan but have spent more than 10 years living in the United States, and Jay still visits Japan every other summer, he said. Jay’s father, Andrew, has New Zealand citizenship.

5. Litherland’s first Olympic memory involved 2016 teammates Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

Litherland first remembers watching the Olympic Games in 2004, when big name athletes such as Michael Phelps and Australian Ian Thorpe stole the show. Litherland also remembers watching current Olympic teammate Ryan Lochte swim.

Now, the 20-year-old has the opportunity to join some of his childhood idols on the Olympic stage — something he called an “amazing feeling” while talking with WNYT.

“I think it was 2004, when I first saw it and I saw the big names like Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe and Ryan Lochte. It was amazing seeing them and I always had the dream of going to the Olympics at a very young age. And to know that I’m gonna experience that is an amazing feeling.”

Are you excited to watch swimming at the 2016 Olympic Games? Will you tune in to watch Jay Litherland swim the 400 IM at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games?

[Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Sport]

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