Gina Sereno is driven and wildly talented. At the University of Michigan, she was a 7x All-American and Big 10 Champion in the 3K, 5K, and 10K. She works full-time as a systems engineer, debugging spacecraft software, while chasing World Triathlon points. Current ranking: 16th in the world—and 2nd American, after Taylor Spivey.
Earning that ranking took a huge amount of grit and determination. Brought to short course racing through USAT's Collegiate Recruitment Program, Gina already had a top-notch run. But she had to become a world-class swimmer. Because in draft-legal racing, if you come out of the water behind, you won’t make the front bike group, and your chances at a podium are slim.
Below, Gina, 31, shares her journey to hanging with the world’s best in the water.
Have Patience
“For some people, they can learn things very quickly. It took me a very long time to develop my swim to the place where it’s at now, where I can go to a race and make a bike pack.”
“I had 3 years of that. Going to races, coming out in the back. Just trying really hard to actually get into the race.”
Believe You Can Improve
“I believed it was possible that I could get better. If I just keep doing this, I can’t get worse; you only get worse if you stop.”
Break it Down
“I would get all of these analyses, coaches would look at videos and give me tips on form and these technique things I could change, and it would be this giant laundry list of like 15 things: oh, your catch is terrible, your body position’s bad, your head’s moving, you’re not looking at the right part of the pool. When you breathe, both eyes come out of the water – it was just everything.”
“I would just pick one thing. I was like, OK, I can’t fix all of these things at once. Let me just isolate this, and I’ll just work on this one thing. I think that helped to break it into manageable chunks.”
Trust Yourself
“I’m so much more confident in my swim now. I used to start races, and I was so nervous. Now I trust myself more. The fact of the matter is you can be a really good pool swimmer, and get a bad start position, and get beaten up in the swim and come out of the water not reflective of your actual ability. Knowing that I’ve improved and have better open-water awareness, knowing I can handle any situation, I’m less nervous going into the swim. That just sets up the rest of the race better, if you’re in a better spot mentally.”
Have No Quit
“Advice for anyone: Don’t give up. It can get better. And also, just know that it’s gonna take a while.”
Follow Gina’s journey to LA28 on Insta @ginawolverina.
We’re so proud to support Gina and all the amazing athletes putting in the work to #findfaster.
