For most athletes, the obstacle to success is their talent. For Texas senior swimmer David Johnston, it was something completely out of his control.
It’s all come together for him now — Olympic qualifier, eight-time All-American and national champion. The prowess was always there, but early on, from a physical standpoint, it was a struggle.
“When I was a freshman in high school, I was only like 5’-2”, like 100 pounds,” Johnston said. “I was a small guy.”
At this point, Johnston decided to take a break from swimming and try out other sports, playing basketball and cross country for the next couple of years. But for him, the break wasn’t a matter of quitting, rather a refresh.
“I think that mental reset for that year really helped me get to the level I am today … I came back on a mission,” Johnston said.
At 16, Johnston continued to progress, getting an offer to swim for Texas. But Johnston took a redshirt year last year to train for the 2024 Olympics with American Hall of Fame swimming coach Mark Schubert in California.
However, once again, his training was not without physical setbacks.
“I got mono over the summer, and then when I got to California, my health wasn’t in a very good place for a while,” Johnston said. “I was kind of missing a lot of workouts in the fall just trying to recover from that.”
Throughout the training season and into the spring, it remained difficult for Johnston to keep pace with the elite American swimmers as he recovered from mononucleosis. However, he eventually found his footing, crediting the 7,100-foot altitude for conditioning him.
“We did an altitude camp … in Flagstaff, Arizona,” Johnston said. “That helped me a lot … (to) have that endurance in that really long race.”
The swimmers went first in January and returned in May, right before the Olympic trials. Before the meet, he found himself with a cold but didn’t let it deter him.
Ultimately, Johnston made the team and swam the 1,500-meter freestyle in Paris, where he placed 18th after being eliminated in the preliminaries.
After the Olympics, he always planned to return to Texas, where he still has two years of eligibility. With the Longhorns’ expectation to contend for a national title this season, Johnston has become a leader for the team.
“I told the team in a meeting a couple of weeks ago … it doesn’t matter what type of team you assemble, it can fail if the culture is not good,” Johnston said. “I think that it’s not about the talent here, but it’s more what you can do with that.”
Nonetheless, amidst all the new transfers and coaching changes, Johnston feels that this team has the best culture he’s ever been a part of. He and the rest of the team look to continue their dominance as the No. 1 program in the country.
