Olympian Mark Warkentin‘s interview on Open Water Wednesday is now posted online here.

After finishing 8th in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was admittedly not satisfied with his performance. But real life called and his son was soon born. He retired and started coaching.

However, the allure of the open water was too much. The challenge of world-class competition remained. Many of the same men he had beaten and some of the same men who had beaten him are still in the sport.

So with his wife’s full support, he returned to the waterways of the world and is on track to try to represent the USA again at his second Olympics. But however romantic is the thought of winning a medal in London, the importance of eating right, training hard and swimming well remain hurdles that must be met every day in a never-ending battle. 24/7, 365 days per year. But it is a battle that the former USC All-American intends to win.

Photo by Dvorak at the Semana Nautica 3-mile open-water swim in Santa Barbara.

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