For the first time since winning five medals in the Paris Olympics earlier this month, swimmer and Arlington, Virginia, native Torri Huske is back in the pool training again.
She took a break from swimming laps for an interview with WTOP Monday evening.
“Today was my first time touching water after the Olympics,” Huske told WTOP. “So I think it was about three weeks, did some just really easy swimming.”
Huske, 21, goes back to college at Stanford University in California next week, and even though she hasn’t been in the pool, she’s been busy meeting with fans and urging people to help with something near to her heart since she was young: food insecurity.
“My dad and I would hand out lunches to the homeless and the disadvantaged in D.C. and I think seeing firsthand the impact you can make on people, that had an impact on me,” she said.
People who attended an autograph singing for Huske in Arlington over the weekend brought more than 900 pounds of food to help the Arlington Food Assistance Center.
As far as winning three gold medals and two silver medals in Paris: “I still can’t believe it has happened to me. I remember when I was younger and I really looked up to Katie Ledecky and Maya DiRado, those were probably my two favorites.”
Now, she’s inspiring younger girls and boys, and says she’s grateful for those younger fans.
“I do remember the first time I realized that kids look up to me was when this little girl came to a signing. She told me she had named her American Girl doll after me,” Huske said. “I was just very flattered, and it kind of made me realize how much I can impact kids now that I’m older.”
Huske did not medal in the 100-meter butterfly heat during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — the same race she won an individual gold medal in this year in Paris. She came in fourth in Tokyo by 100th of a second and used that to find gold this time around.
“I think it increased my mental toughness, also my resilience, so I am grateful that it happened,” she said.
And what does she expect will happen in 2028?
“I do think I’m going to try for LA ’28. It’s still so super far away. I have two more years of college still to go,” she said. “Timing wise, it might work out.”
Huske said her plan on the pathway to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is to keep doing what’s been working for her, including events to help people who are hungry. She has plans for another food drive in Arlington in December.
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