Retired from the sport, Hinds watched the 2018 USA National Championships and realized how much she missed the sport. She changed directions again, moving to nearby Athens to train with a group of post-graduate swimmers.
It was like starting over for Hinds, who signed with the Gators in 2012 out of Midland, Texas, as one of the top female swimmers in the country.
She soon reconnected with Olivia Smoliga, a former University of Georgia swimmer whom Hinds competed against in college. The two became training partners and three years later, both are headed to Tokyo together as Olympians. Smoliga finished third in the women’s 100-meter free at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials earlier this month, one spot ahead of Hinds.
For the 27-year-old Hinds, the third time was the charm. She qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012 and 2016 but did not make Team USA for London nor Rio de Janeiro.
AT A GLANCE
SPORT: Swimming
EVENT: 4×100 relay
HOW SHE QUALIFIED: Finished fourth in the women’s 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials; the top four individuals in the event earn a spot on the 4×100 relay team
TOKYO SCHEDULE: Preliminary heats for the women’s 4×100 free relay are July 24, Olympic Final is July 25
UF CAREER: Won back-to-back SEC titles in the 100 free in 2015 and ’16, and was SEC Female Freshman of Year in 2013; a 20-time All-American at UF
NEED TO KNOW: As a junior at Florida in 2015, Hinds made national headlines when she finished third in the 100 free at the NCAA Championships behind Stanford teammates Simone Samuel and Lia Neal, marking the first time in NCAA history three Black swimmers claimed the three top spots in the NCAA Championships.
QUOTE OF NOTE: “I know what life is like outside of swimming, so I know how much I love swimming and how much this moment means to me. I think that’s what I learned from the break.” — Hinds to Swimming World Magazine on coming out of retirement in 2018 to vie for an Olympic berth
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