Marymount water sports standout Sophie Wazzan stays focused - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

Season Interrupted: Sophie Wazzan gets accustomed to life outside the pool

Share via

Throughout the spring, The Times will interview high school seniors whose athletic careers were cut short by the coronavirus outbreak.

Name: Sophie Wazzan

School: Los Angeles Marymount

Sport: Water polo/swimming

Key stats: Had 85 goals and 286 steals in water polo; competed in the 500 and 200 freestyle in swimming

Fall plans: Will attend Indiana

A look at the high school sport standouts whose seasons were cut short by the coronavirus outbreak.

April 11, 2020

On the sudden end to the swimming season:

Advertisement

“We were looking to break some records. ... This has been the longest I’ve been out of the water since I was 10. I’m still not used to it.”

On life without sports:

“There’s a lot of free time that I’ve never had before. It’s really interesting to see what I’ve been coming up with to try to keep entertained. I’ve never had anything like this in my life.”

Advertisement

On the new things she’s discovered in her free time:

“I’ve been baking a lot, everything from cookies to cakes.”

Her specialty:

“Coffee cake. It’s pretty good.”

On training without a regular pool:

Advertisement

“We have dry-land workouts from my coach. We bought a swim tether that we tie to a tree and swim stationary in the pool.”

Santa Margarita’s Josette Odgers finds solace in winning two state swimming titles before the coronavirus shutdown: ‘We made the best of the times we had.’

May 4, 2020

On her swimming start:

“I started swimming when I was 10 because my mom said that I had to pick a sport. She said I could pick anything but swimming, so I started swimming.”

On the lessons she’s learned:

“It’s made me think a lot more and reflect more on myself and what I do and how I live my life.”

Where she sees herself in 10 years:

Advertisement

“I see myself working at an economic consulting firm.”

Video interviews of each athlete can be found at latimes.com/sports/highschool.

Advertisement