Torri Huske is making waves after snagging three gold medals and two silver medals at the Paris Games, and people can’t stop talking about her! Just think about it: four years ago, she missed a medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics by just 0.01 seconds, even though she was leading for most of the race. And now she used it as motivation to come back stronger. And she did just that!

In Paris, she not only redeemed herself by winning gold in the same event. It just goes to show that with hard work and the right support, anything is possible! Well, support was from her coach, which made it possible!

Greg Meehan has been Torri Huske’s trainer since she kicked off her college career at Stanford University in 2021. With all of Torri’s amazing victories, the Huske-Meehan tandem earned the right to celebrate and move toward the 2028 Games in Los Angeles with momentum. Recently, Greg joined the hosts of the Social Kick Podcast for an engaging chat about the Paris Games. In episode 199, titled “Greg Meehan on Coaching Torri Huske, Stanford, and Katie Ledecky,” he shared some behind-the-scenes insights into coaching and what it’s been like to work with such incredible athletes.

Team USA stood out in swimming at the Paris Games, clinching 28 total medals and narrowly beating Australia with 8 golds to their 7. It was a women’s team led by Katie Ledecky, Kate Douglass, and Torri Huske who made it possible. When Greg Meehan was asked in an interview about his thoughts on Team USA’s results, he provided an insightful perspective on their performance.

Meehan stated, “I think the team still swam really well,” while acknowledging they didn’t meet their own expectations. He reflected, “There are certain things that are outside of your control in that moment,” expressing pride in the team’s accomplishments, “there’s a ton of pride for the team’s performance, and I think there’s also a sense of, okay, we can be better, and that’s okay.”

Meehan highlighted that factors like “the heat in Croatia and the water temperature made training difficult,” noting that athletes often left their sessions feeling more fatigued than ready to compete. He explained, “If you were rating a workout to be a seven and a half out of ten, like, it was hitting them at a nine,” which added to the challenges faced by the athletes. Ultimately, Meehan emphasized that success is a collective effort, stating, “There’s always going to be like ebbs and flows to performances, and I think there were certain things that helped set up the team really well for success, and there were other things that were a little bit outside of our control.” 

After reviewing the outcomes in Paris as a team, the Huske-Meehan partnership has reasons to rejoice while also looking ahead to achievements—especially with the 2028 Olympics approaching in Los Angeles. Meehan also highlighted how Katie Ledecky’s mere presence in the water inspires those around her to excel and fosters a culture of teamwork and support at Stanford that he describes as “collaborative.” Even during her accomplishments, such as securing an Olympic gold medal, Torri Huske tends to naturally shift attention away from herself.

Torri Huske’s record-breaking performance in Paris

Torri Huske attributes her success in Paris to the support of her Stanford teammates and the guidance of her coach, Greg Meehan, who devised a winning strategy for her during the nine-day competition in Paris, where she emerged as the winningest American swimmer at this year’s Games. When discussing her role in anchoring the U.S. women’s 400 medley relay team to gold and a world record, she humbly remarked, “You could have put pretty much anyone on that, and it would have been fine, just because they did such an amazing job and they set me up so well.”

The journey to winning gold for Huske was shaped by her mentality honed over four years of competing at the level. After coming in fourth place in Tokyo, she turned that setback into a driving force for her success. “I’ve never wanted anything so bad in my life,” she shared after her victory in Paris. On her journey, she noted that the lessons from her past setbacks provided the perspective she needed to succeed this time around. After facing obstacles along the way and experiencing time at the 2023 World Championships, Huske made the choice to pause her college swimming for a year.

“I really want to have that singular focus of just being really good in the water and really prioritizing my recovery,” Torri Huske recalled. This decision paid off when she qualified for her second Olympic team, and her emotional win was all because of the hard work she and Meehan put together. After her victory, she felt a deep connection to her coach, saying, “These past few years, I feel like we’ve both been through a lot.” Torri’s journey not only inspires her teammates but also aspiring swimmers everywhere, showing that setbacks can lead to comebacks!