The Road to Nationals-Julia Smit

ConocoPhillips presents The Road to Nationals, a year-long series in which Swimnetwork will follow National Teamers from January onwards as they look forward to the summer's biggest meet: the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships.

This versatile National Teamer has had an impressive start to 2010 and is looking forward to carrying that momentum into the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships this August. Stanford’s  Julia Smit competed at her fourth  NCAA Championships this past March, winning the 200-yard Individual Medley, 400-yard Individual Medley and the 400-yard freestyle relay, and helping Stanford stay in the team title hunt down to the last race. She was also named the 2010 Pac 10 Swimmer of the Year and recently made the decision to turn pro, signing with David Arluck. 

Smit, who will walk in the graduation ceremony this spring but complete her studies next year after the World Cup circuit, caught up with Swimnetwork to chat about her upcoming meets and the transition from college swimmer to professional in this week’s Road to Nationals.

National Team Member: Julia Smit
Distance from the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships:  395 miles.

With your post-collegiate career now underway, where are you with your training?
Julia: I took a week off after NCAAs and just relaxed. We are just starting to get back into things so things are going really well.