No wonder Brianna burns was crowned athlete of the month for January. A stellar performer and ferocious competitor, she is a part of Rider swimming and diving royalty. But we wanted to go deeper than strokes and kicks for you all. Here, Brianna looks into her crystal ball and reveals what she sees herself doing in the future including if an Olympic medal is in the picture, chews over how sport and being an athlete has impacted her life and talks about what she feels is her greatest accomplishment at Rider.
What does it mean to be acknowledged as the athlete of the month on gobroncs.com?
It’s a great accomplishment. I’ve been training so hard and having an awesome season and to be acknowledged like this means my hard work is definitely paying off.
How have people in your life reacted to it?
My friends and family are such great supporters. When they found out I got the award they were definitely very happy and excited for me.
You hope to be a PR representative for the NFL in the future, why?
I love football. I grew up always watching it every Sunday with my brother and dad and I think I would be perfect in that field.
Do you think about participating in the Olympics?
The Olympics is definitely every swimmers dream, but a very hard thing to reach. There are so many fast girls out there that it would be very tough. But you never know what can happen.
How do you think being an athlete has affected other aspects of your life?
Swimming has definitely helped me so much in life. It has taught me a lot about time management, dedication and team involvement. Waking up every morning at 5:30 to get in a cold pool isn’t exactly exciting but it has taught me about a lot about dedication and determination into getting what you want.
Is sport something you have always participated in?
Yes. I have been swimming since I was 10 and its just always been part of my life.
At the Rutgers Champions Carnival, you won five different events. How proud of that are you?
It was absolutely exciting for me to win those events. I had some great competitors and winning was a great feeling. Again, all the hard work is paying off.
What would you consider to be your biggest accomplishment or proudest moment?My proudest moment [at Rider] is probably winning the MAAC Conferences in 2009. Swimming is very much an individual sport, so when I win it’s exciting but when everyone wins it just makes it 100 times better. It was one of the greatest feelings knowing that the whole team participated into winning that title and I will always remember that moment forever.