My Signature: Mental Toughness Helps Goldfaden Achieve More

Itay Goldfaden earned All-American honors in the 100 breaststroke last year and had previously been a two-time national champion in his homeland, Israel. The emerging star recently added another impressive accolade to his resume by winning the SEC individual title in the 100 breaststroke at the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga., on Feb. 22.

Coming into the meet, my goal was to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which I did earlier in the morning. So, my coach, Kevin Swander, and I knew that since I had qualified, now it’s time to have fun. Before the race, I told myself I was just going to do my best and have fun. We do so much and sacrifice a lot in swimming. I wasn’t even thinking about winning. I was just thinking about having fun.

When you swim the breaststroke, you don’t use the flags like you would for the backstroke so you know where you are. The first 25 yards were smooth; pretty good. I saw I was a little bit ahead of the guy next to me.

After 50, I saw I was a little bit ahead of him. My turn on the first 50 wasn’t that good, but it was OK.

In the last 25, I saw the guy really close to me. That’s when I knew that everything would go down to the last 25.  I knew I needed to be the one on top.

The last 15 yards I was just telling myself to try to finish as hard as I could. Don’t give up.

It’s pretty painful. When I hold a fast speed, I get tired really fast. I had to find a different source of energy to move my arms and legs and stay strong. The mind can bring you down, so I just tried to stay focused.

“I’m going to be more confident. I know what I need to do.”
– Itay  Goldfaden

In the breaststroke, it’s really tough to look out to the sides. I knew the guy right next to me was really close to me, but I didn’t know how everyone else had finished.

It took me about 10 seconds to realize I had actually won. I was looking at the scoreboard and thinking, who won? The scoreboard was in an awkward position. As soon as I finished, (teammates) Fynn Minuth and Lionel Khoo came over to my lane and grabbed me.  That’s when I realized I had won, I was excited. The team was so excited.

I don’t think I ever thought about winning SECs before I came here. I remember in my freshman year, I barely made it into the B finals. Now, winning the SECs is really important to me.

SECs is one of the best meets out there, without a doubt. I think the environment is better than the NCAA Championships. It’s better than any meet I’ve been in before. To be there on top of the podium really means a lot.

Before I came here, I didn’t really know what practice meant. Back home, I would swim hard, but here, it’s a totally different environment. Every day in practice is another race. We have so many good swimmers here. You can’t just go easy. I have to push myself to the limit every day.

Coming into SECs, I had some issues with my confidence. My mind game wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be. Knowing that I can swim fast and that I’ve put in the work, when I go to NCAAs, I’m going to be more confident. I know what I need to do.