KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Athletes from all over the world are training in Knoxville to get ready to compete at the Olympics this summer in Paris. Many of them don't know yet if they'll qualify, but they're giving it their all for the pre-trials.
The director of swimming and diving at the University of Tennessee, Matt Kredich, is helping them work toward the medal stand.
"There's a draw to the water to just get in and move and work with it and almost dance with it," Kredich said. "We believe that there are about 15 athletes on this team who will be representing their countries at the Olympic games."
Kredich said he never considered himself as a competitive swimmer when he was a child up until he was well into high school, but he always loved the water and his first passion was basketball.
He grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and his family used to spend time at lakes and the ocean which added to his love of being in the water. After Kredich hurt his knee as a basketball player, he began swimming for rehab and on his first swimming practice back in high school his coach caught him by surprise.
"It was 500 yards and that was more than I'd ever swum at one time in my life," he said. "I started to get out and he said, 'Where are you going?' It was a good practice and he said, 'That was warm up, we got a lot more practice to go.'"
Kredich said he was more comfortable on his back than the front and he became known for his backstroke. He continued his progress and had some college opportunities with a college career until he came face to face with a medical obstacle.
"For me it came really easily until my sophomore year in college, and that's when I was diagnosed with testicular cancer," Kredich said. "I went from 190 pounds down to 150 pounds with a lot of surgery and chemotherapy. And at that point I was used to swimming 9,000, 10,000 yard practices. But after the treatment, I would swim 500, which was the length of my first warm up, and throw up."
Kredich kept fighting and said he had to rebuild everything he had earned as a swimmer. Having to relearn, it helped him understand different people's experiences in different ways through swimming.
When he was finished with his swimming career, Kredich said he thought coaching would be a great fit for him because it helped him change his life in so many ways that he wanted to help others do the same.
"I think I want to help other people realize the therapeutic value, the growth potential that exists within sports," he said. "The therapeutic value of swimming, that the incredible kind of life giving experience of being on a team that's pursuing a goal together and all those things are wrapped up in coaching."
In August 2023, Kredich lost his 24-year-old son Ben when police said an impaired driver hit him while walking on Kingston Pike. It was a devastating time for him and his family and poured himself to his work.
"Connecting with and working with and working through the water is it's almost a spiritual kind of experience," Kredich said.
One of his former athletes is Erika Connolly, formerly know as "Brown." She's now a post-grad professional swimmer, as she graduated from UT in 2020.
Kredich recruited her when she was in high school and lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.
She said he had come into town to actually meet with another athlete and through that, Connolly decided to come on a trip to UT. Her first year was in 2016.
"Matt is really the most amazing coach, he's someone that doesn't just want to make you a better athlete, but he really cares about who you are, as a person," Connolly said. "His door's always open, if I want to go talk to him. If whatever goals I have, he wants them for me even more, and I just fully trust him."
Kayky Mota is one of the swimmers Kredich coaches and he represents Brazil's national team while training at UT.
Mota said his goal is to qualify for the Olympics and Kredich is helping him with that. At the moment, Mota said he's partially qualified.
Training with Kredich helps him in several days, even on the bad ones.
"He's 100% locked in, and he knows where you need to be and that's just fantastic," Mota said. "I've had a lot of times where I wanted to give up and, you know, I'm not doing this anymore. So Matt was really, it didn't matter if I was in a bad place. He was there for you. He will tell you, 'Hey, let's get up and get moving.'"
Kredich said it's a two way street and he sees the good in everybody. He said swimming challenges people in all levels, spiritual, emotional, physical and mental.
"I'm inspired by the people that I coach," he said. "As a coach, I can see these flashes of brilliance in everybody. And I do believe that every person has a unique gift or set of gifts that they can bring to the team and that they can bring to the world."
Right now, Kredich said they have a few athletes who qualify for the Olympics but they'll know more after the pretrials.
Teams to watch out for swimming are Australia, Great Britain and China.
He said the Olympics are not about winning.
"It's Mount Olympus, the highest level," Kredich said. "Ultimately, it's really just as you, just trying to be your best. And look for those moments of kind of personal triumph, doing something better than you've ever done before."