Kate Douglass: “I’m enjoying my life outside of swimming”
Even as she’s aimed to strike a balance in her life overall, Douglass qualified for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore across three individual events: The 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, and 50m butterfly.
On Tuesday (29 July), she earned silver in the 100m breaststroke for Team USA, behind Germany’s surprise winner in Alana Elendt, and will race the remainder of her events in the coming days. It’s a barometer test on the world’s biggest stage, yes, but one that Douglass is seeing with that aforementioned long-game approach in mind.
“This year and next year are kind of about just chilling a little bit,” she said. “Trying not to train too hard, but doing enough to where I can show up to these meets and be confident and swim fast.
She continued: “I’m enjoying my life outside of swimming, I think, for the year, year and a half, [which] is really important to be able to get me to be really good in 2028.”
Is LA 2028 potentially the end of the lane for the 23-year-old New York native?
“That’s probably where I will end my swimming career,” she said before pausing and laughing. “Who the hell knows! But yeah, that’s kind of in the distant future.”
It’s not a future she isn’t thinking about, however. The four-year plan has worked out well so far, starting with the sun, the beach and an adult beverage in her hand on vacation after Paris. Since then, she’s settled into a consistent pace in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she had competed for the University of Virginia, exploring its surprisingly robust cafe culture in search of her favourite combination: An excellent cappuccino and warm pan au chocolat.
“I’ve been trying out a lot of great coffee shops and bakeries in Charlottesville,” she said, smiling. “I think that’s my favourite thing, especially when I’m travelling. … It’s definitely [become] an important part of my morning routine.”