Elizabeth Beisel will not compete for Team USA at the Olympics in Paris. The former silver medalist retired from the sport in 2017 and shifted a large part of her focus from the pool to music.
She is an extremely talented violinist!
Beisel first qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing as a 15-year-old and will be working for NBC Sports as a commentator in France this summer. Her resume proudly boasts a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley and a bronze medal in the 200-meter backstroke in London, and a gold medal at the World Championships in 2011. It was a great run from one of the most likable personalities in the sport.
Balance was something that Beisel made a priority during her career. Music was/is a big part of that.
Not only is Beisel a fantastic swimmer, she has a great ear. The University of Florida alumna is often found with a violin under her chin. Team USA invited her to play the national anthem at the Olympics Swim Trials in Indianapolis last month and she absolutely shredded ‘Seven Nation Army’ during her warmup.
Beisel and Katie Ledecky also performed a beautiful duet at the Golden Goggles in 2018.
Little did I know until recently, Beisel has actually been playing a lot with various bands and artists and friends all over the country. She documents a lot of her music journey on TikTok!
One of her most recent videos blew me away. It’s a classic.
Beisel ripped one of the most famous riffs in country music— Devil Went Down To Georgia. Her fingers were moving and the fiddle was fiddling!
Everything about Beisel’s pivot toward the violin is super cool. Really everything she does is super cool and worth following. The three-time Olympian once picked up a summer job as a lifeguard because it was something that she always wanted to do.
As NBC integrates Elizabeth Beisel into its Olympics coverage, let’s hope that we get some violin too!