AUBURN, Ala. – Pressure is nothing new for Luis Martinez. The former Auburn swimmer is a three-time NCAA qualifier and a three-time All-American. But when he stepped up to the blocks at the Olympics for the first time in 2016, he could feel the nerves.
“Everything you have done becomes reality in 50-plus seconds, and you got 50-plus seconds to prove that to everybody,” Martinez said. “That is a lot of pressure to put on yourself when you're 19 years old."
Martinez, swimming for his home country of Guatemala, placed 19th overall in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He’s back this year with Guatemala, competing in the same event at the Tokyo Games, and he’s faster, stronger and more mature. With that, however, comes a different kind of pressure.
“The thing I learned the most was it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, you're always going to be nervous at your first Olympics,” he said. “Now I’m not just a young swimmer at the Olympics. I'm in my prime, and I need to perform.”
Martinez was born and raised in Guatemala and moved to the United States in 2013 to pursue his educational and swimming dreams. After hearing about Auburn through a teammate back home, as well as his coach, he had his sights set on being a Tiger.
His coach, Coach Juan, told him “If you ever have an opportunity to go to the U.S., you need to look at this university. But just know you’re going to there to swim, like truly swim.”