Chile’s star swimmer Kristel Kobrich: 'Swimming is mathematics" 

What keeps an athlete going after competing at five Olympic Games, five Pan American Games and a record 11 world championships?

A ticket home.

At least that was the motivation for 38-year-old swimmer Kristel Kobrich who is competing at a record sixth Pan American Games in her hometown, Santiago.

And her experience started off with a bang as Kobrich was selected to be Chile's flagbearer, together with beach volleyball player Esteban Grimalt, at the Opening Ceremony on 20 October.

"It will be remembered. It is a mega event," Kobrich told Olympics.com. "People are comparing it to when we hosted the football World Cup (1962), which was just, “Wow”. It was a long time ago. We are trying to make (the Games) something like this, to really increase the scale and get people into sport, so that kids can go and watch us compete, enjoy it and so that someone can click and connect with one of the sports that we are showing."

Olympics.com spoke to the Chilean legend ahead of Santiago 2023 to find out what to expect at the Games, what it takes to be on top for two decades, and why she has no plans to retire after breaking her own record three months ago and becoming the swimmer with the most world championships appearances.

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The record-breaking “craziness” of Kobrich’s Pan American journey

Kobrich was 32 years old when Santiago was elected to host the 2023 Pan American Games. It is an age when most swimmers are ready to announce their retirement, but Kobrich only saw the long road ahead.

"Beyond being an honour, it is a source of pride," she said of competing at a home Games. "We know what a world championships means, we know what a Pan American or Olympic or South American Games mean – it is about representing your country. It’s very important for us, for me and my team. That’s why my team joins me in this ‘craziness’ and we are really trying to be at a good level to compete in these events."

Kobrich's take on “craziness” involves breaking a Games record for participation.

She made her Pan American Games debut in Santo Domingo in 2003, a week after her 18th birthday, and is set to make her latest appearance 20 years later. When Kobrich dives off the blocks at the Aquatic Centre in Santiago, she will become the first swimmer in history to have competed at six Pan American Games.

Her Games debut yielded a bronze medal, in the women's 800m freestyle, making Kobrich the first Chilean swimmer to win a medal at a major Games. She has since collected a total of five medals from the Pan American Games - one gold, two silver and two bronze.

Come Santiago 2023, however, medals and records will not be the main thing on the swimmer's mind.

"It is going to be unforgettable," Kobrich said. "It is going to be something that will nourish us and will mark a 'before' and 'after'. But beyond that, it will show how sport can unite. That is what I'm passionate about. It is the understanding that the movement does us good, that it unites us, that it is going to be a party and that we can really enjoy and feel what it will mean to have this event at home."

A numbers game: Kristel Kobrich’s secret to longevity

After more than 20 years in the top tier of her sport, for Kobrich, swimming is no longer a mere quest for medals.

"This is a passion. Beyond that, it is a responsibility, a job," she explained. "I’ve achieved everything I wanted a long time ago."

Instead of a competition against others, Kobrich approaches swimming as a competition against herself – an approach that has spurred her on to numerous continental and national records.

"When I go to a tournament, I always go with very clear goals - to do my best time, depending on the preparation I have had over the past months," Kobrich said. "The medal does not mean much in itself. The numbers are what interests me and what are my clearest goals. I try to be as consistent as possible, so if I finish 10th in a world championships or 15th, but I was close to my best time, it's perfect. If I advance to the final, but I am 10 or 15 seconds slower, I am not going to be satisfied. That is my take on swimming, because swimming is numbers, it is mathematics."

Mathematics is indeed a defining attribute of Kobrich’s swimming career who at 38 boasts several records that could only be achieved courtesy of a long career.

Kobrich is part of an exclusive club of swimmers who have competed in the same event at five Olympic Games – in her case, the women’s 800m freestyle – and is the first swimmer to have competed at 11 world championships. Swimming greats Laszlo Cseh, Federica Pellegrini and Angela Maurer retired after nine world championships.

According to Kobrich, the secret to her longevity is mindset - and knowing when to ask for help.

"The mental part is crucial," she said. "It is about raising your hand when you say, 'I’m in a black tunnel, I don't understand how I can recover'. Simply raise your hand, say 'I need help, this is happening to me'. I’ve always been very conscious about it. It’s always been me, every choice I’ve made in my career is because I’ve felt it this way."

Kristel Kobrich: Saying bonjour, not adios

While swimming in the qualifying races for the 2023 Worlds Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Kobrich also almost hit the Olympic Qualifying Time for Paris 2024.

If the Chilean athlete makes it to Paris 2024, these would be her sixth Olympic Games – a record feat only achieved by four other swimmers: Lars Froelander and Therese Alshammar of Sweden, Turkiye’s Derya Buyukuncu and Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli.

Now on the brink of making yet more history, Kobrich says she has no plans to retire while she is still able to practise the sport at a high level.

“The important thing for me is how I feel physically and mentally, to find a balance between both and be really respectful of what it means to represent the country,” she said. “As soon as I feel that there is an event where I can’t represent the country as it deserves, I will step aside. And in that I say, again, honesty and understanding have to go hand in hand. I will not be proud and say, 'I can do everything'. No, sometimes I can’t do everything.

“But for now, my body still works. My head still has the passion, so I keep going with that same enthusiasm, the same respect.”