Local swimmers learn from USA Olympic medalist Cody Miller

WATERVILLE, Maine (WABI) – Cody Miller won the gold medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay and a bronze in the 100 meter breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

He’s in Waterville this weekend to teach and inspire young swimmers.

“I’m the lead clinician for the USA Swim Clinics, so I travel around the country and spread the joy and love of swimming that I had as a little kid to young athletes everywhere. I have a YouTube channel where I teach people how to swim better and be better. One of my viewers sent me an email and said ‘we’d love to bring you out to Maine.’ I was like, ‘yeah, sounds like fun,’ so here I am. I just try to make it as fun as possible. Swimming, and all sports, should be fun. If they’re not having fun, they’re not going to enjoy it, and then they’re not going to remember the things that you say. When I give them a drill or something, I try to make it fun and challenging in a way that stimulates the kids. Keep it exciting, keep it fun because swimming can be monotonous (lap and lap and lap). That’s not how I do things. It should be fun,” said Miller.

It’s a unique opportunity for local talent to learn from Miller.

“You don’t get a lot of chances to swim with an Olympic swimmer. They know all of those tips and secret things that a lot of people don’t know. It’s really inspiring. It’s awesome,” said Max Lichman-Paul, swimmer.

“I think it’s very impactful for the younger kids because they are like, ‘wow, this guy’s older. This guy knows what he’s talking about.’ So, it will be more likely for them to listen. It was such an inspirational moment for me when I was younger. I met two famous Olympians when I was younger as well. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I loved taking pictures with them, getting things signed from them, and it was just really fun all around,” said Hayden Averill, event helper.

Miller discussed why he wants to teach the sport after his international success in the pool.

“I was lucky that I had a lot of great mentors and coaches that helped mold and shape me into the person that I am now. I owe that all to swimming because I gained all those mentors and awesome figures in my life from the sport of swimming. For me, it’s a way to give back to the next generation of athletes. It’s really fun, and it’s really rewarding,” said Miller.

Miller has won seven medals at the Olympics and World Championships in his career.

The clinic runs through Saturday.

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