Carson Foster: Why I’ve stopped trying to be perfect

Carson Foster has stopped trying to be perfect, but it wasn’t easy.

Until 2022, the USA Swimming star's ‘low level of OCD’ was one of the reasons he initially experienced so much success as a medley swimmer.

He wouldn't rest until until each of his strokes were all at the same standard.

But he started to fear making any mistakes, and it led to the disappointment of not making the team for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 when he had been expected to do so.

“I think missing the team in 2021 exposed some of my weaknesses,” Foster told Olympics.com ahead of the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships.

“My biggest fear going into trials was, what if I missed the team? What if I don't make it? What if I don't achieve my goals? And sure enough, all of those things kind of happened.

“The pressure of needing to be perfect backfired. But I spoke to a lot of people who helped me realise that my life was still the same, and I still get to do the sport I love for a living.

“I gained the perspective that racing is the output, but the input is the training and the experiences around it. And that's what I can control. I learnt that if I had done everything I could in training, when it's time for the meet, I just needed to shut my brain off and race.”

This calmer outlook produced transformative results.

At the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Foster, aged 20, produced the performance of his life in the 400 IM.

The American led Leon Marchand for the first half of the race before the Frenchman eventually overhauled him to win with the second-quickest time in history.

On top of finishing with silver, Foster’s time of 4:04 knocked almost two seconds off his personal best, and he had become the third-quickest ever from his nation behind Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

Four days later, the Ohio native clinched his second Worlds silver in the 200 IM, behind Marchand once more, before helping the USA team win gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay with a lightning quick 1:45.04 leg.

Simply put, Foster now looked like he belonged at this level.

“Those doubts and those anxieties, I think every high level athlete gets them, but it's just about how you can handle it,” Foster continued.

“It’s all about whether you let it manifest in your head or whether you dismiss it. I learnt to do the latter.”

Leon Marchand: bringing out the best in Carson Foster

One of the biggest names in swimming right now, especially in the run up to a home Olympics at Paris 2024, is Leon Marchand.

Being so close in age, and having raced each other at NCAA and World level, the two medley swimmers have got to know each other’s style well.

And nowhere is Foster’s new perspective on competition more evident than in his feelings towards his 21-year-old rival, who is already a five time individual world champion.

“It would be ridiculous for me to stomp around and kick rocks all day about the fact that I have a really tall task ahead of me to win an Olympic gold medal going through Leon,” Foster said.

“It certainly was frustrating at first when I was hitting such great times but couldn’t win anything. But I've flipped the switch to just being grateful that I have someone like that to race against.

“About 99.9% of the world’s swimming population would love to be in the situation I'm in. This is what I want, and this is where I want to be.

• Carson Foster's new mentality: If I swim perfect I’m going to be hard to beat

Basketball great Michael Jordan famously convinced himself that he detested his rivals going into matches in order to achieve his best levels of performance.

This could not be further from Foster’s outlook, who feels grateful that he gets to challenge Marchand, and measure himself up against the fastest 400 IM swimmer in history.

“In the past I tried to embrace this rivalry and it just made me more tense. It makes me feel like there's more on the line,” Foster revealed.

“I've learned that I swim my best when I'm loose and not much is going on in my head. I race with gratitude, and that's kind of the mindset I try to attack with.”

Carson Foster: Following in Michael Phelps' footsteps

Heading into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games trials, Foster is regarded as one of the USA’s top male swimmers.

Following in the footsteps of icons like Micheal Phelps and Caeleb Dressel could be considered a burdensome status to shoulder.

Both of those athletes, and many others in a similar position, have experienced mental health issues associated with such expectations.

Foster is hoping to avoid this by refusing to worry about things that are out of his control.

“Obviously the goal is to win, and that's what I train for. But, I've been in a spot in swimming before where winning and the results are everything and it's just not fun to me. It’s hard to live up to those expectations twenty-four seven,” he said.

“I want to stay in this sport for as long as I can, and once it’s done, I don’t want the summary of the bulk of my years at the highest level spent feeling anxious and worried, rather than just being grateful that I get to do it.

“I want to continue to just learn and grow. I'm not perfect, but this mindset is what I'm striving to achieve.

*“*I want more people to see that it's okay to be that type of competitor that's excited for growth, rather than results, and loving their competitor rather than thinking of reasons to hate them and finding happiness in the sport.

“If I can impact someone with the way I'm learning to go about the sport, then that would be great.”