In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 17-year-old swimmer Nicole Frank dedicated her competition to her late paternal grandmother, Angelika Rädche, who qualified to swim for Germany at the 1940 Helsinki Olympics. Shortly after the qualifications, World War II broke out, canceling the Games.
Her grandma's stories had inspired Frank to swim competitively. When she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, the Uruguayan broke an 81-year hold on her grandma's dream.
This Olympics, however, holds a different meaning for Frank and her family.
As she heads to Paris, Frank reflects on her struggle with mental health a year earlier. Frank dedicated this Olympics to her family for helping her rise out of one of the toughest times of her life.
"So many things were coming into me, and I was just getting overwhelmed," the Florida International University swimmer said. "I felt so much pressure."
The Uruguayan resided in Florida and had not seen her family in two years. Grief weighed on her after her maternal grandmother's death in 2022. The demanding schedule of swimming exhausted her. The more she processed her feelings internally, the more her mental health declined.
"People who know me know I always give my best. I always try to be positive. I always have something inside that is pushing me forward and forward," the 20-year-old said.
Frank said she struggled to motivate herself to go to practice, and her eating habits declined. The lack of motivation concerned the swimmer who had swam in multiple world championships, was the 2023 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and won the 400-yard individual medley at the conference championships.
"There was a moment that I looked at myself in the mirror and I was like, this is not me," she said. "My personality was not the same. The way that I will handle things is not the same."
The pressure and stress built up to the point when Frank knew she needed help. Frank called her mother, Cecilia, who urged her to open up to a professional.
"I talked to my psychologist, and we made a plan. Since then, we just started growing and deepening a little bit more inside of my head," Frank said.
Gabriel Casanova, Frank's athletic trainer at FIU, also played a big role in her recovery.
"He's the best," said Frank, who will soon start her junior year. "If he wasn't there to be with me or listening to me, it would be so hard."
After overcoming her struggles with her mental health, making it to her second Olympic Games felt like an afterthought.
"If you asked me in November, I wouldn't be going to the Olympics," Frank said. "I wouldn't have even tried."
Yet once Frank started to feel better, her motivation and competitive edge returned.She won two titles at the conference championships her sophomore year.During their daily phone conversations, Frank's mom would always ask, "You're going to be in Paris, right?"
With the blessing of her college coaches, Frank dedicated herself to qualifying for the Paris Games.
"We have a saying in Spanish that you have things in between your eyebrows when you're really focused on something and you just think about that."
"I went to practice every day just thinking, 'Hey, I went through this. I'm over it. Now I have everything that I need to complete this goal,'" she said.
After a year of overcoming mental health struggles and full dedication to Olympic preparation, Frank qualified for the 2024 Olympics representing Uruguay in the200-meter individual medley.
"I think this Olympics is just making myself proud," she said. "I know I went through all of that, and I was able to get out."
She has dedicated this Olympics to her family for supporting her through the bad moments as equally as the good ones. Frank specifically recognizes the impact her mother has had on her journey.
"Now we're just more bonded and united than before," Frank said. "I think it really helps to have her support always.
"(My family) deserves to be like, 'Hey, this is also my reward, is also my achievement because I was there with her.'"
Now, as Frank looks in the mirror and reflects on her year, she prides herself on how far she has come.
"If the way is hard, it means that later on something good is waiting for you."