Elizabeth Beisel: 5 Things You Need To Know About The Captain Of The U.S. Women’s Olympic Swim Team

Elizabeth Beisel is a favorite among the U.S. Olympic swimming team, and when she takes the pool to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, fans will have an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Beisel’s vibrant personality. As one of the three captains of the U.S. women’s swim team, Beisel hopes to help lead Team USA to success in the pool in Rio.

Find out more about Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel with the five fast facts listed below.

1. Beisel is one of the most experienced members of the U.S. women’s Olympic team.

Elizabeth attended her first Olympic Games as a 15-year-old when she qualified to represent the United States in Beijing in the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter backstroke. She failed to medal in either event, but Beisel said the experience was invaluable when she returned to the Olympic Games in 2012.

As a 19-year-old at the London Olympic Games, Elizabeth earned silver in the 400 IM and bronze in the 200 backstroke. At the 2016 summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Beisel will once again swim the 400 IM in an effort to capture that elusive gold medal.

2. Beisel doesn’t take herself too seriously.

Shortly before heading to Rio, Beisel posted a video to Instagram of herself and teammate Allison Schmitt goofing off in the pool. In the video, Beisel and Schmitt can be seen swimming toward the wall of the pool, where they do a flip turn and then pop themselves up out of the water. The video (and flip turn) has since become extremely popular in the swimming community. The video is certainly fun, but it’s more than that. It’s a snapshot that allows fans to look into Beisel’s bubbly personality.

In addition to being a positive, bubbly person, Beisel is also realistic about her future. She knows she won’t be swimming forever, she told Bustle, which is why she insists on enjoying the moment and having fun with everything she does. She refuses to take herself too seriously, she said.

“I realize that swimming isn’t a rest-of-my-life career, and I sort of wanted to do it the way I wanted to do it. And that’s going to be me having fun with it, and me being happy, and me choosing to enjoy what I do because otherwise, if you just go through the motions, you’re going to be miserable.”

3. Beisel is a Florida Gator.

In addition to her success at the Olympics, Beisel also has had success at the college level. During her career as a Gator at the University of Florida, Beisel earned two NCAA titles — in the 200 backstroke in 2012 and the 400 IM in 2013.

Additionally, Beisel earned 18 All-American honors. She performed well in the classroom, as well, as she was named to the Capital One Academic All America team for three years in a row. Beisel graduated with a degree in telecommunications in 2014.

4. After she’s finished swimming, Beisel wants to work on the screen.

After she’s finished swimming, Beisel hopes to put her telecommunications degree to work as an analyst or commentator for ESPN. As a child, she had hoped to be an anchor on The Today Show, according to SwimSwam, but Beisel acknowledges that she would be happy working for a local news station as well.

5. Elizabeth is musically inclined.

Beisel began playing the violin when she was five years old, and recently Team USA Swimming co-captain Allison Schmitt posted a video to Instagram showing Beisel giving violin lessons during training camp.

In addition to the violin, Beisel also plays the piano.

Ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Elizabeth teamed up with Michael Phelps’ longtime coach Bob Bowman for a violin-piano duet — she on violin and he on piano. See it below.

Will you tune in to watch Elizabeth Beisel swimming during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio?

[Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images Sport]