How Gold Medal Olympian Kaitlin Sandeno Learned to Love 2nd Place

I get out of the pool and I go through, you know, the media snake of all the, you know, people that you have to stop at. And this lady's like, oh, how does it feel just to miss an Olympic gold medal? And like, shoves a microphone in my face and I'm like, I have an Olympic silver medal. Like, what do you have? You know what I mean? And like, this is my personal gold. Like, you have no idea the trenches I was in with this race and the amount of times that I wanted to give up.

I am Jeff Dutton and we are on on the Homefront. And as always, this podcast is brought to you by Homefront Brands. Simply building the world's most responsible franchise platform, encouraging entrepreneurs to take action to transform their lives, impact communities and enhance the lives of those they care the most about, all the while delivering enterprise level solutions to local business owners out there on the home front. So if this sounds like you, check us out@homefrontbrands.com today and start your next chapter of greatness, building your dynasty on the Homefront. I will be looking for you right here. And today we have an incredible treat on the home front, gold medalist and swimmer extraordinaire, Caitlin Sandino. Welcome, Caitlin.

Caitlin, thank you so much. I'm excited to be on.

Caitlin is a multi talented athlete holding several titles and known for quite a few things. Best known as an American, former competition swimmer, an Olympic gold medalist, world champion, champion and former world record holder, as well as Caitlin is also an author, motivational speaker, podcast host, and an emcee and a television personality. So we're super excited to have you on in swimming. You started, let's see, let me get my notes right here. You started in the Olympics at the age of 16 at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, you won the bronze medal in the 800 meter freestyle event along with fourth place in the 400 meter individual medley and sixth in the 200 meter butterfly. In 2003 at the University of Southern California, you won the US National Championship in the 200 meter butterfly and the 200 and 400 meter individual medley events. And then in 2004 in Athens, Greece, at the Olympics, you won three more medals. A silver medal in the 400 meter individual medley, a bronze medal in the 400 meter freestyle, and a gold medal in the 4 by 200 meter freestyle, which was at the time a world record by two seconds. If I correct. Is that correct?

Yes. We broke the oldest world record in the history book at that time.

Oh my gosh.

It was the last Eastern women's record that still stood. So that was pretty impressive to be on that relay. And it had so much history to wipe out that record. And it was a surreal moment, for sure.

Wow. Well, what an amazing. That's something that no one can take from you. And I share a moment in time that was incredibly special. And I know that swimming in particular is one of the most thankless, longest training. You know, up early in the pool, just hours and hours and hours. You're also an author of Golden Glow, which is how Caitlin Sandino achieved gold in the pool and in life. You had a podcast, and I'm not sure if you're still doing it, which was behind the blocks. And you are the national spokesperson for the Jesse Reeves foundation, which is Never Give Up Encouraging kids with cancer. So, Caitlin, I would love to start, as we always do, on the home front, is to just go back a little bit into your early days and understand a little bit about how you grew up, where you grew up, and then. And then really, you know, transitioning into an athlete and an Olympian at 16. Tell us a little bit about that.

Yeah, Jeff. So I was born and raised. I'm born and raised in Southern California. I grew up in a kind of a smaller town called Lake Forest. Tourists in Orange county, very like middle class. Dad worked his butt off, so my mom didn't have to work and drove me to swimming, soccer, cross country, dance. I kind of tried every sport growing up. I was a huge tomboy, but I had, like, a huge, obnoxious, like, bow in my hair. So I, I just took a liking to sports from a young age. I had a lot of energy and I was pretty athletic in the pool and out of the pool, uh, which is kind of unique for swimmers because swimmers usually are really good in the water and they're not as strong on land. So I get to debunk that myth because I was pretty solid on grass. Um, and it came down really between soccer and swimming. And, you know, I, I had parents that were super supportive. They didn't push me, but they led me. Um, I, you know, like you said, swimming is a very thankless sport. There's a lot of hours that go into it, a lot of early mornings. And, you know, I love to sleep and I do not like to wake up early. So swimming was very challenging for me when it came to morning workouts where I had in the pool at 4:45am and do a two hour workout and then go to high school the rest of the day and then do another workout after that. So I put in the hours of my parents leadership. As far as what I mean by leadership, more like just getting me there and getting up also. I mean, before I had my license, my parents had to drive me anyways, right. And so I didn't have the, like this, the stage parents, like, they weren't super pushy, they were very supportive. But we were in it together and. And I have two older sisters with a pretty big age difference, 11 and 14 years. So I almost felt like I had three moms because of my sister's just support in like, just the way they all kind of like coddled me and took good care of me, but they were just so proud and so supportive and came to a lot of my events and photo shoots and appearances. I could always hear them cheering for me in the stands. And honestly, Jeff, I talk about it in my book and it's something that I like to share every time I speak. Speak because I think it's a really valuable lesson. I was never afraid to fail because I always felt unconditionally loved. And for, you know, the parents out there, grandparents, families, if you have an athlete that's going through this journey or just life in general, I mean, it doesn't need to be sports. I just honestly felt so loved. No matter what place I ended up, first place, last place, dq. I knew it wasn't disappointing my parents. And that's where we see a lot of like young athletes where they're afraid just to go for it because they're afraid they're going to let somebody down because they feel like they measure their worth on their success in the pool, on the soccer field, on the podium, etc. So my parents, unconditional love. I really contribute a lot of my success to. I mean, obviously there's a lot of attributes that go into being a champion, but it starts at home and it starts with the way you're raised. And it starts by not being afraid. And so I was never afraid just to get up and race. I mean, I do feel like I was born with this fire. I think you're either born being really competitive or you're not. I've seen it. After being a coach, I'm like, you have the fire, you don't. You know what I mean? And you either have it or you don't. And I think coaches can bring it out to a certain degree, but it's the way you're hardwired. And so I was always really competitive. I had a natural taking to the water, just a natural feel as soon as I was walking, I was going off the diving board, and my mom's like, oh, my gosh. Can't even swim yet. But I was just like, boom. Go. My swim coaches instilled more belief in me, like, saying, you know, I think it's time to give up soccer, really dedicate yourself to swimming, because we think that you could do some pretty incredible things. And my soccer coaches were never really that vocal about it. And, you know, it's such a different sport, swimming to soccer. I mean, you're going from an individual sport to a team sport. And the chances of, you know, scholarships and national teams and World cup, which is starting this week, I'm so excited. Um, and so I chose swimming. I. I was in junior high, and when I was younger, I was a lot shorter and smaller and skinnier, hadn't gone through puberty yet than my competitors. And, you know, I. I hung in there. I was like, average. And then kind of like the middle of eighth grade, I really just started taking off. I started getting a little bit of height. I was still, like, pretty small when I got to high school. Like, looking back at old pictures, I thought I was, like, in junior high. My mom's like, no, you're in high school here. And then when I was 16, it was kind of crazy how quickly things went. Like, I went to practice, I worked hard. I got good sleep. I was really involved in school, too, as class president, in yearbook. I think it's really important to stay well balanced because swimming's gonna leave eventually. And I would say it was, yeah, my. My junior years, when a junior of high school. Sorry that I really started taking off. And I made my first international meet in 1999 when I was 16. And then the following year, I made my first Olympics at 17. So the. The progression is, like, a little unique in this sense that it happened really quickly. Like, I. You know, I was kind of in the mix that I wasn't really, like, the star of the show. And then all of a sudden, I was like, boom. I took off, grew from like 54 to 5 7, put on some weight, put on some muscle, and was kind of just like. What's the right word? Probably pretty naive, like, as to how good I was. You know, I was just like, I race. I like to win. And people are like, oh, are you gonna make the Olympics? I'm like, I don't know. Like, other people were talking about the Olympics more than I was, or going to my parents, like, oh, your daughter's gonna make the Olympics. My mom's like, we don't, we don't know that, you know. And sure enough, I made my first Olympic team. And that was pretty surreal. You have to be the first or second fastest American in your race to make the Olympic team. And I did that when I was 17 years old.

That's amazing. I want to go back a little bit to the unconditional love thing. And if anything that's going to grow needs to be watered proper, properly, and the conditions need to be right. And it reminded me of something that I've. I've said in the past about raising kids. One of the things I've always said, and I used to say this to our teams too, you know, when and if and where appropriate, is that, you know, you don't need to catch a ball or make a tackle, you know, to be loved. Right? You're, you're. You're loved unconditionally. You don't have to do. There's. There's nothing that you can, that you can do or not do on this field that's going to change that. Right. So don't worry about that. Right. Because that's a huge lift off of, off of a child and an athlete's shoulders. You know, when we would coach teams, you know, it would. We had a special formula. And I got a book, hey Coach, that I wrote when I went to the end of my coaching career. And it was, you know, if we can get a group of kids to play fast and loose and for each other and without fear of repercussion. And then the other thing is to, from a team perspective, autonomy, turn the team over to them. And I would say by the end of this season, if all the coaches got stuck in traffic and we didn't show up, that you would be able to go out and play this football game. And, and it was with that approach that they took responsibility for it, as opposed to, you know, up, down on the line, do this, do that thing and, you know, and then the other, the other thing that I, you know, when you talk about that and it just reminded me of these things, is I felt it was important never to lie to my kids because how many parents, in trying to protect their kids, lie to them, but then they lose their trust and they know that their parents won't tell them the truth, and then you've lost the most important connection. So the dog didn't run away, you know, or the cat didn't run away. I accidentally ran it over, you know, or something, you know, I mean, like. But little things like that. I mean, it's. It's like, hey, I just gotta. You know, I'm driving home. You're, you know. And I was always the bearer of the bad news on our side of the family because I would rip the band aid off. I'd be like, no, I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Like, this is what happened. Now we'll deal with it. And then the third thing was, is. Is support, but don't save them. And I observed a lot of parents rescuing their kids from situations that they really had the abilities to get themselves out of. Now, your. Your parents, especially daughters, need to know that you will always advocate for them and that you will always fight for them. But, you know, there's also a lot of things that they just need to handle on their own. I mean, society, we make it so easy for our kids to shirk accountability these days and to, you know, blame. It's just, you can. I mean, it's gotten very fashionable to not take personal responsibility and to blame other people for what's going on and what happens to you. But I was listening to Ben Carson speak one time, and he said that. He said, the person that has the most to do with what happens to you is you. And I was like, yeah, that's. That is a mouthful of truth right there. So I appreciate what you said about your parents and the fact that you really, you know, there's, you know, you identified that, you know, they gave you the conditions, they gave you the license and the freedom to, you know, pursue this. And. And you rewarded them back by class president, probably getting good grades, probably keeping your nose clean, probably, you know, all of these things. Yep. Up into. Including going on vacation with them next week.

Yes. I can't wait. My family is my everything. And. And like you said, I mean, it comes from confidence, and I think confidence comes from love. And so those two go hand in hand. So my parents, like, instilling this unconditional love. You know, I have this strong confidence in myself and in my abilities, but more like who the person I am and the confidence that I'm loved no matter what, you know, and really what it comes down to is your imprint. Like, how are you raised? Like, how. What tool set did your parents equip you with? And I'm just so grateful for that and the relationship I have with them. And. And then my older sisters, too. You know, I'm the youngest of three girls, and I know in some households, that can be a lot or hard or, you know, I'VE heard some horror stories of sisters growing up together, and I don't know if it was our age difference or what, but it's just like this, you know, I'm 40 years old now, and my oldest sister is always like. And my baby sister, my baby sister, I'm like. She's like, you'll always be my baby sister. You know, we just have this bond of just, you know, we're just strong women. And we all have had our own success in life in completely different areas. I just think that's speaks volumes to our parents.

So you come back from the Olympics and now you're right back in high school.

That was so.

What was that like?

Oh, Jeff.

I mean, so I like, literally, I mean, so you're. You're an Olympian. You're in front of the camera, you're having all the success. Then you come back to high school. Was it difficult for you, and is it still difficult for you to balance, you know, the high profile things you do and. And then the rest of your life?

Yeah, absolutely. I feel like in high school, high school was interesting. I mean, I came into school two weeks late because the Olympic Games were late that year. And my parents were super cool. They gave me a few days to, like, kind of just chill out, relax, gather myself. And I remember my mommy like, all right, okay, I need to go to school tomorrow. I'm like, mom, give me just, like one or two more days. And she's like, caitlin, Tomorrow is Caitlin San Ando Day at El Toro High School. So you need to be there. I was like, oh, my gosh. There's like a day for me. And they brought in like a. There was like this assembly, and I had, like, my Olympic medal, my backpack and civics class. You know, my teachers let me see that thing. And. And so it was pretty surreal. Everybody was super supportive. I mean, high school's a herd that's a hard age to navigate anyways, though, you know, not everybody loved me, that's for sure. There's some cattiness in there as well. But, you know, I was always very. I mean, I say this. I say this humbly. I've always been pretty humble. I'm not really flashy or in your face, and I'm not. I wasn't walking into school wearing my metal, you know, but people wanted to see. And I was asked to bring. It was in my backpack. You know, it's literally in my sock drawer right now. They're not like, hanging up anywhere.

And, you know, and you should show it. It Would be weird if you didn't show it. You know, I think it's, it's right.

I'm very proud of it. But like I had somebody that took like their driver's license with their Olympic medals on. He's like, it gets me out of so many tickets. I'm like, I'm not doing that. Okay, I won't be doing that. But the transition, I think, you know, it was, you know, excitement for a week and then it was like, okay, then I was nominated for homecoming court and then I homecoming queen. And so I was like on this. Caitlyn. Hi. And I'm like, oh, people are probably really sick of me now. And then I kind of had to leave school a lot because I was doing the recruiting process and going to different colleges around the country. And you know, I was so blessed to be the top recruit in the nation and be able to pick where I wanted to go to school for free. And so that took a lot of trips and time out of school. And you know, there were some times where I just told my coaches, like, I just want to be a normal kid. Like, I want to go to the football game, I don't want to be at practice, I don't want to like show up to school with wet hair. Like, let me kind of enjoy my senior year a little bit. And then that was short lived because I had world championships that summer or that year as well. So it was kind of like, all right, enjoy like two, three weeks and then back to the grind and picking a college and whatnot. And the transition, I think was little is actually easier then than it's been now. I'm still working on it now. It's a very humbling experience because of just the situation that I'm in right now. I still get blessed these amazing opportunities, but they're gigs, you know, they come and go like, you know, I'm still navigating those waters and I'm. I'm learning to be a little bit more open and vulnerable about being in this, like, weird in between with the. The thing that's interesting, Jeff, about swimming is that it's really, really popular every four years and so build up to the Olympics I start getting a couple more bites like, hey, can you do this? Can you do this? And you know your Olympic status. And then it's quiet for a while and then it picks back up four years later. And so I kind of ride this. Even though I don't compete anymore, I ride this wave as like a swimmin personality. There's Not a lot in our sport really, that have trained like, stayed in the sport on like that. And I mean, there's only one role on the microphone, right? And so I've been really grateful for the opportunity to be kind of that face and voice for USA Swimming. But then I, I need things when I don't have things, you know, if that makes sense. So it is a very humbling experience. It's interesting navigating those waters and, and maintaining balance, you know, and, and what it is that fills my cup.

So what advice would you have for a young athletes today? There's so much training now, I mean, even more probably so than when, when you were coming up. You know, there's so much pressure, there's on young athletes now to specialize early, and they do get out of balance. There are a lot of repetitive stress injuries. I mean, there's just like pitchers, I mean, they just, they're throwing all the time. And because there's always, there's. There are ways now through nutrition and other ways to get more and more training in. So. And the pressure gets immense inside of this. I mean, if you just look at any professional sport today versus the footage you see from 30 years ago, it's a night and day difference. The games are faster, the people are stronger, everybody's bigger, everybody's fitter. You know, all of this, you know, specialized training that we get to do, how, what, what recommendations from, from your experience would you give people to keep themselves, to keep them mentally, you know, in the center lane and keeping things in perspective?

Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question. And it's something I get asked a lot, like, well, how do, how do you balance, how do you maintain? How do you not get burned out? I'm like, no, you are going to burn out. Like, it's kind of inevitable. But how do you bounce back from burnout? Because I, I probably burned out three, four times in my career. Once I got the taste of my first Olympics, I had to have it again. It was like this addiction where it was like, that was the best thing I've ever tasted and I need to do that again. And so I think it's being realistic. You are going to get sick of it, you are going to get hurt, you are going to have these obstacles or these setbacks, but how are you going to recover from those? Are you going to be stronger than what you're up against? And that's honestly, Jeff, when I think it become what it comes down to between good and great is here. Everything that happens between the ears. Because what you said, there is so much training out there, there is so much advancement in the sport and a lot of people have access to that. But this, that's the difference between good and great and that's the confidence, that's mentality, that's how you show up. And I really, I don't mean to like say it over again. It's really how you come back from the negative setbacks. It's easy to move willingly, freely, excitedly when you're kicking ass. You know, it's easy to do that, but what are you going to do when you're on your ass? You know, and so it's like that mental aspect of the sport in the game and then for, you know, the youth or the parents listening, I think it is so important that you keep in mind that your sport is going to end. So what are the other skill sets that need to be implemented at a young age that builds foundation? How do you teach kindness, empathy, compassion, giving back, making a difference? How do you make sure that your student, your child knows there's more to life than what's happening on the court, on the field, in the pool?

Yeah, it's so clear there is a huge discrepancy when you see professional athletes talking, the ones that really grew up with a foundation, with a base that we're clearly. I mean, I, I think it's more than just media training. I mean, media training is important. Everybody needs it, everybody should have it. Before you stick a microphone in front of you, there's some people that just, you can just tell. They're just constantly seeming to say the right things because they are, they have a broader perspective of their place in the world. They realize, okay, yeah, I'm a, I'm a star quarterback, but I'm just a, I am a person and I'm talking to other people here and you know, they can. And then other people get that mic in front of them and they just can't seem to, you know, can't seem to say the right thing. So I think it's because probably, you know, a lot of these, they were in the same situation as you. They were a high profile star from a very young age. And all of the eyeballs, it's are conferred upon them and you know, you can, you can get swept up in that pretty quickly. And, and I think so you're in the business world now, you're doing gigs. You are a sought after commentator and emcee for swimming events. Also the Parapan Olympic Games in Chile, I think are you doing that this year? Have you done that in the past?

Actually, it's kind of a cool full circle. My very first international competition was the Pan American Games in 1999, and this will be my first year commentating them. So I'll be doing the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, and then the Parapan Games the following month as well. So this is my first time doing it, and it's kind of full cycle with my career.

Yeah, that's. That's fantastic. What skills from your training and your success in an Olympian are most important in translating to your life today the things that you're doing in business? You know, how. You know, what did you. What did you bring with you? And then was there anything that you needed to leave behind?

Ego needs to be checked a little bit. I wouldn't say I had a big ego, but the humility, you know?

Well, you have to be confident. You have to be confident.

You have to be confident. Absolutely. You have to be confident. I am talking to my husband about this. He always laughs about it because I'm like, I'm not that competitive. He's like, yeah, okay. And I have tried to scale that back. As you know, it's not really an attractive quality when you get a little too competitive. So I need to know the right time and place for competitiveness. But I feel like the skill sets that have translated very well is obviously leadership. So I was always, like a team captain, and that speaks volumes. Obviously, in real world, best business, professional settings. I feel like I've always been able to articulate my feelings really well, but sometimes I feel like actions speak louder than words. So as a. As a leader, I could communicate, but I could also show because I feel like, show up. You know what I mean? Like, I didn't have to be the loudest person on the team, but I feel like I needed to show what I was trying to accomplish within our team. So obviously leadership. I am a very punctual person. I'm like five minutes early to everything. If I'm not, I'm stressing, I'm sweating. And that comes from sports. I feel like you probably have the same thing. You're late, you are extra laps. You just. You're not late. And I think. And I think it's really respectful. Like, when people are late, I mean, everybody's time is valuable. So I really a firm believer in punctuality, and I do believe my sport created that and determination. I mean, I don't mean to, like, speak the obvious, but if sports teaches you anything, it's, it's determination and self discipline. And I think especially in swimming, because it is a very challenging sport. It's not a very social sport. You follow a black line for like five hours a day, and you're hardly breathing, you're hardly talking. Like, I literally, when I started working out on land, I had to remind myself to breathe. Like, Caitlyn, you're not underwater. Breathe. You can breathe. Air is everywhere right now. You know, it's that determination, self discipline, the, the self discipline, you know, it comes and goes in everything I do from nutrition to working out. But when it comes to my work ethic, I think I have a very strong work ethic. And I think sometimes I. I'm a little hurt on myself or I expect more. And I actually had a really interesting conversation with a fellow Olympian who is very successful in the sports world right now. And I mean, take it or leave it, some people can think this or not, but as Olympians, our 100% is most likely different than a lot of people's 100%. So sometimes we don't give ourselves enough grace because we're used to hitting 100%, but our 100 for most people could be about 80, 75. And so it's that translation of, you know, how we're wired, what we're used to. I mean, we're used to being the best in the world. And so it's, it's giving yourself that grace and perspective as to, like, not being too hard on ourselves, because I think most Olympians are perfectionists. It takes perfection to be the best in the world or at your trait. And I think finding that balance in the real world is giving yourself grace and not being too hard on yourself.

Have you found that going out into the business world? I know that you were one of the first female general managers of a pro sports team with the DC Trident, which is an International Swimming League team. And now you, you have this Olympic mindset. So you show up. You're probably. You show up at work at 4:45. The doors are locked, so you have to wait. You can't get in, but you're used to. You're used to showing up at that time. You know, I have this concept of business athletes, and my observation is really, really good. Entrepreneurs are some of the most athletic people that I've seen. They can. They work early, they work late, they stay focused in meetings. They always have that game, and they know what they're trying to get done. They can stop on a dime and walk into a room and Communicate and command the room and do that kind of stuff. And I. That's what I call business athletes. And. And. And then you go out into the workplace and, you know, and it's fine, but there's a lot of people there that are, you know, they're not motivated to that level, or they're. They're there to do a good job and cash a check and, you know, go home to their families and do all that. And there's. There's nothing wrong with that. Like, we need all kinds of. Of people. We need amazing diversity of all kinds of things in our workplace and, you know, diversity of everything, including, you know, what people are looking for in a career, because we need people to do all these types of different things, and there's a fit for everybody out there. However, you compete at an Olympic level, so you show up into a workplace and then you have direct reports or people in your organization that are not interested in contributing at that level, not given that kind of effort. Is that a rub for you? Are you picking your words carefully here?

Yes, I am, because I've had some experiences recently where I'm like, I have such a headache because you're not doing your job correctly. And now it's affecting my job. So you do. You. And do it as well as you can.

I.

It's like the majority of my headaches are putting out other people's fires. I'm like, put out your own fire, you know, and so. And I agree with you, we all have our skill set. I know my weaknesses, but I surround myself around people that make my weaknesses stronger. But I think something that you touched on with the athlete mentality in the entrepreneurial workspace is preparation. Athletes are prepared. You train, and they do the work and the preparation. They're. They trained. They know what's next and they know what. They know what needs to be done, and they're training for it, and they're prepared for it. And so I think that's a big disconnect from athletes and non athletes is the prep and the. The discipline and the repetitive. I'm okay with repetitive. Shoot, I was a swimmer. That doesn't get more repetitive than that, you know, and so, yeah, I mean, it's been interesting waters to navigate because, you know, I do believe that all different types of people is what makes the world go round. But my biggest thing that I look for or want is to be set up for success. And it's like, don't. Don't put me in a situation where I'm going into this not being able to win a gold medal. You know, I know that there's going to take work and training that goes into it, but set me up to succeed because ultimately, Jeff, it's teamwork. Like, I'm not in industries that I work by myself. And in entrepreneurship and in the business world, it is a team. So you're only going to be as good as your team. So set each other up. I mean, obviously there's me shortcomings and obstacles and learn from your mistakes, of course, but it's like you do you as well as you can. Don't make me do me and you. Does that make sense?

It does. And I think a huge fallacy is work smarter, not harder. I think it's work smarter and work harder because it's just math. The more things that you get done in. In the. In a shorter amount of time that you remove latency between decisions, you're just moving things forward faster. You know, time is time. Time and love are two most precious things that we have. Because, like, it's. I mean, those, Those two things, like, that's it. That's what we've got. Everything else, you know, falls into one of those buckets. And it's why we do everything that we do. And it's the. It's, you know, time is the resource that we just can't get any more of. If you might want to achieve more faster so you can have more freedom to do what you want to do later, you. You win the next opportunity by winning the one that you're in, not quitting or going around or going backwards. Like, you win the next opportunity by. By. By, you know, winning what you've done. So, you know, I, I look at it and I'm like. Because sometimes I've gotten to points in my career where I'm like, I want to work a little smarter. I want to get paid for what I know, not what I do. And I don't want to work as hard. And ultimately, every time I've tried that, I've just been very disappointed in myself because I let things slide. It's going to be good enough. And. And it's, you know, so, you know, you, you. I've been in some business deals with some people that were in their 80s, and these were some of the most focused, you know, fiery, long, like. And I'm like. And I, I would say, why do you do what you do? And they say, this is what I do. I do deals. But they're like 86, and they're going to do deals. He goes, this is what I'm going to do until I die. Now, I don't particularly want to do that. I've got some other things that I would like to do. The fundamental baseline of success is always at some level, hard work. It just doesn't. I mean, I guess you could get lucky. I mean, there's a billion dollar Powerball ticket out there floating around right now.

Caitlyn just don't really believe in luck too much.

It's 1 in 292 million.

You'd be lucky if you win her.

But if you don't win that, then, you know, you've. It's rise and grind, right?

Absolutely, absolutely. And I think that was some things that I had to navigate as well because I was like, I have been rising and grinding since I was like 15. And then I was like, I had to go through a season of just like taking some time out and I'm actually in like a season right now. I'm like, okay, I just worked my booty off and I'm like, I'm taking, I feel so European. I'm like, I'm taking July off, you know. And so I think that's important too because I'm a big believer in balance. You got to reap what this world has given us and all the joys in it. And like you said, we have time in love. And right now I'm really enjoying time with my loved ones. And so I just think that's really, really important because when you look back on life like these are the moments you're in or really remember.

Vacations would mean nothing if you just went from vac to vacation to vacation.

So literally like, oh, this is right.

You gotta, you gotta, you gotta wear yourself out. And they're like, man, I need a break.

Yes, you earned it.

When did you write Golden Glow?

Writing a book was always on my bucket list. And I had started it a few times and was like, how do I do this? Then kind of put it off to the side. And then I hosted the 2016 Olympic trials and a writer approached me about co authoring. He wanted to get into this specifically women's female athletes story journey to inspire, motivate. Like, I'm so interested. So, you know, the, the brainstorming started in 2016. We were going to self publish, but it got picked up by a publisher. And I want to say it was released in, was that 2019 and was really excited. I was going to do all these tours. I think Covid hit. I was like, jeez, you know, I know, but honestly, Jeff and I, like, truly mean this. Like, I wrote this book, like, for me and my family. Like, I wasn't trying to make. I mean, you really don't make a lot of money writing the book, or at least the book I wrote. And it wasn't like, I'm gonna write a book and become rich and famous. I was just like, I wanted my memories. I wanted to put this down. A lot of, you know, it was. It was kind of listening to feedback. Like, I would do all these, you know, speaking engagement. Everybody's like, oh, you know, we only got to hear you for 45 minutes. I would love to hear X, Y and Z. Like, you should write a book. And so I was like, oh, okay. So it's like, get the people what they want. And so, yeah, like, people like, oh, how's your book sales? Or how many books have you sold? I'm like, I don't know. I don't care. My mom is so thrilled. My dad gives it to, like, all his buddies. Like, I don't. I don't care. It's for me, it's for my family. You know, it's been well received. You know, I look back at it, I wish I would have done things a little bit differently. I was going through a pretty crazy time in my own life. My mom was battling cancer. I was starting up with this ISL program, which is brand new. So I was a little over my head when we. This project was happening. And so, you know, there's some things I would change, but at the same time, I'm just glad to have it for me and for my family.

What are some of the lessons in there that you shared?

You know, my biggest one is overcoming adversity. I have a really powerful story that I like to share, you know, really about. I'm going to try to put it in a NutShell, but in 2000, my main event is the 400 IM. So one of the longest, most grueling races. And in 2000, all eyes are on me. People said I was going to win the gold. I was 17 years old, never been to the Olympics. So in Australia, people are going crazy. I dive in, I start swimming somebody else's race completely. Didn't stick to my own game plan. Had a very, very hard, tiring race. Touch look up was fourth. Was completely crushed to not win a medal, not a gold medal. Had a terrible time, got out of the pool so hard on myself. Was so disappointed.

So. So it was a time that was not as good as You've done before, I think.

You know what? That's a great question. I don't. I don't even know because I was so fixed on the place, and that's what got in my head. And I was never that swimmer. I didn't care about place. I'm like, go, best time. Go, best time. And I never really. I was. When you're young, it's easy to go best times all the time. And so my teammate was like, what's wrong? Why are you so upset? And I'm like, I just got fourth. And she's like, what's wrong? I'm like, I just got forced. She's like, I just don't see what's wrong with that. Like, you're the third or only three people in this world can beat you in the 400. I am. I was, like, in the world at 17. And so my whole kind of, like, you know, gaze changed again, because I wasn't that person. I was never really worried about, like, other people and places and whatnot. And I just got so wrapped up in the Olympic movement and the media, and it's like, gold, gold, gold. You got to win a medal. It's got to be gold. And then I get fourth, and I feel like I'm this big disappointment to my country. And then for four years, I really struggled in that event. I was at a plateau, like, could not improve, could not break this barrier. And I wanted to give up on that race. I didn't want to do it anymore. It was just too hard, too frustrating, and my coach wouldn't let me. And ultimately, I knew, like, that was my baby, that was my race. And then I get to the 04 games, and I'm just grateful to be there. After had injury, a shoulder injury, a back injury, a car accident. You know, the freshman 15 was like, freshman 20 for me. You know, there's a lot that I had to overcome between 2000, 2004, and, you know, I pulled it together and had this amazing race to qualify for the Olympics. And then I got to the Olympics, and I was going up against the girl who beat me by seven and a half seconds. You know, in 2000, she was the defending world record holder, defending world champion. I was like, all right, here we go. Showdown again. But all I wanted to do was, like, my personal. I wanted to break this barrier that I was set at for so long. It was 4 minutes and 40 seconds. Like, just beat 4:40, and ended up having, like, this epic battle with Yana Kle from the Ukraine. And we went down, you know, neck to neck, fingernail to fingernail, under the flags, and I ended up getting second by 1200 of a second. But I went 4:34.

434. Whoa.

Yeah. From going from 440, you know, so that's kind of like, I said that, like, in what, one minute? But I usually, like, that's what I like to really emphasize in my career, because, yes, I have an Olympic gold medal, but when I'm going to share, like, my. My legacy in the pool, I will always share about my silver medal, because everything that happened leading up to it in between 2000, 2004, and then. And then that kind of, you know, my. My last message is, I get out of the pool and I go through, you know, the media snake of all the, you know, people that you have to stop at. And this lady's like, oh, how does it feel just to miss an Olympic gold medal? And, like, shoves a microphone in my face, and I'm like, I have an Olympic silver medal. Like, what do you have? You know what I mean? And, like, I'm like, my mom always taught me to be nice, be a nice girl. I can hear my dad be like, caitlin, just be nice. And I'm just like, this is my personal gold. Like, you have no idea the trenches I was in with this race and the amounts of times that I wanted to give up and the injuries and the illness and the car accident. I didn't even think I'd be at a second Olympics. And to have this, like, epic race that was on the first night of the Olympics. And my team was like, dude, you just fired us up so. So much, like, you set the tone. And I'm like, I. You know, I'm 57, and she's 62, and I lost by 11, 12, 100ths of a second. Like, come on. You know what I mean? And so I'm like, but my 434, like, is my gold medal, you know? And that's. That, to me, is like, that's what I want to share with people. It's like, yeah, always go for gold, but if you get silver and it's your personal goals, like, celebrate. Like, when I touched, I was, like, jumping up and down and, like. Like, laughing and, like, so excited. And people like, oh, my gosh, did she think she won? She got second. This is so awkward. Why is so happy? And I'm like, we just live in this sick culture where it's like, gold or nothing. Gold or nothing. It's like, no, I'm So jazzed right now, like you have no idea. And I'm going to celebrate like I won, you know, I wanted to see my parents. I like tears of joy. My coach ran over a huge embrace. It's like this is what it's about personally, you know, and so my book, you know, focuses on that. But my upbringing and the challenges and kind of how my career ended and, and, and everything in between. So it's really just my life story up until that point.

That, that is an incredible story. I had chills when you told it. That is such a great story. Is that something that you share when you do your speaking engagements?

Yeah, that's like, kind of like my bread and butter. Because I think that hits home.

I'd go with that.

It hits home to the non athlete parent, the grandparent. You know, I've shared it at church, I've shared it with college age, I've served it at corporations. Like you can take any angle from that because then you can get into like it was my team that got me through that. It wasn't just me. It takes a team. You know, it's. And I just have a lot of other details that I haven't shared here. But just, you know, the determination that went into it. Coming to practice early, seeing it practice late, knowing because that event is all four strokes and so obviously I'm going to have a weakness and knowing what my weakness was and working on my weakness because I knew if I wasn't going to work on my weakness, I was never going to get better. But nobody ever wants to work on their weakness. Weakness, right. And so it was like he like asking for help and asking, you know, for me, brushstroke was my worst stroke. So I'm like, I'm like asking the world record holder like teach me breaststroke, you know, and so it's making yourself vulnerable and asking for help and, and capitalizing on obviously your strengths. But you have to like, you do have to be comfortably, you do have to get comfortable being uncomfortable working on those weaknesses or else you're just going to stay at that plateau. And so yeah, that's what I'm most proud of in my swimming career. I mean, obviously I've had a lot of amazing experiences and golds and records and, and whatnot. I mean, silver medal, still rad. And I broke an American record. And you know, I'm really proud of that race. But when it comes down to, I feel like that story speaks to people because it's relatable also because winning gold medalists every Time you swim is not relatable. I mean, Michael Phelps is one in. He's. There's nobody like him, you know, so it's like, I feel like people need a connection, and I think I have that relatability where it's like, not every time I swam wasn't gold.

Caitlin. I went to the Internet and I searched for controversies in women's swimming, and I didn't come up with anything. So we can move on from that. There's nothing going on in women's swimming that we need to talk about, but there's nothing. No controversies going on. So what I'm interested in hearing, though, is what's next for you? Second, like, you could say, all right, you're right. At this point in your life, you've had a great first half of an adult life. Now you got another. You got a whole two or three quarters to go here. You're young, you've got all this experience in front of you. What's next for you? You're a speaker and people love to book you for that. You're an emcee, you're a TV personality. Clearly you're shy, so you'll have to overcome that if you want to continue working on it. Keep working on that shyness and, you know, so. But I. I've. I've seen. I've seen your stuff. Obviously, in doing the research and just knowing you, you're great with a mic in your hand at any event. So. So what. What does it look like for you? How are you, you know, how much intentionality are you putting at your. At your second half? And. And where do you think it's going to lead you?

Thank you, Jeff. Yes. I'm truly trying to be more outgoing and less of an introvert. So it's a work in progress, as we all are.

Yeah. Communication skills. Could you work on your communication skills, please?

Working on that. No, honestly, you know, I'm going to be completely vulnerable and transparent here. Like, I'm still working on it. You know, I. I felt like about a year and a half ago, I felt like I needed to give myself an experience outside the swimming community. And so I stepped away from being the general manager of DC Trident. Kind of a long story short, the writing was on the wall anyways, so that. That league actually is not currently operating. And so I've been in the education space for the last year and a half. I'm really passionate about what this academy offers, but I also. We talked about it earlier. It's that year out from the Olympics So I'm starting to get more opportunities that are syncing up with the Paris Games. Specifically, I've been booked for the US Olympic Trials being the hype girl or the live mc, which is going to be surreal because for swimming, we are going to be moving our Olympic trials into the Lucas Oil Stadium. And so we are able to go from 15,000 fans to 30,000. 30,000 Sands fans in the stands. And that's never been done in the swimming community before. And so I am going to be like, I have the chills just thinking about being live to 30,000 people. So I'm really looking forward to that and the Pan American Games and the Parapan Games that you spoke about earlier. And right now I'm trying to figure out what happens in between these gigs and what could I capitalize on with my skill sets. And, you know, if I could do one thing, it would. I would love to travel the world sharing my story. And literally, that story that I shared in a nutshell, to you. I love my husband. I love to be home, but I also am comfortable on the road, and we have a great relationship that works on the road. So I think, too, when I took a step away from the swimming community, I was getting kind of sick of living out of a suitcase because I was gone so much. And we were in Europe a ton. And during COVID and post Covid, which was just challenging, crazy times. So it felt good to be home. So I'm at this interesting crossroads right now, Jeff, where I am networking, connecting, communicating, and being honest with people, saying, like, you know, where do you think I could shine? Because that's another thing. Like, I want to be set up for success. And I think it's okay to say that I'm okay. I'm okay taking risks, but I would really like to go into something I know I could be good at. And I think I have a calling to. To share, to inspire, to encourage, to motivate. But I also really like people and connecting with others, and I just want to be a positive light in this world. I think there's so much darkness right now. I'm really strong in my values and beliefs, but I also can agree to disagree. And I think that's really lacking these days. I'm a very compassionate person with a lot of empathy, but I just feel like I don't have a lot of patience for disrespect. And I think people are very disrespectful these days. And so I want to lead by example and just kind of on a Mission to do good and see where that takes me.

You have a calling and then what we have to. And I would share that. You have a gift. The question we have to ask ourselves is, do we have an obligation? Do we have an obligation to take everything that's our experience up to this point in life and take that and find a way to impact other people, impact communities, impact the world? That's a tough question because if you, if you get to the point where you have an obligation to do it, then you start sacrificing other things in pursuit of it. And it's. Yeah, I, you know, we had a conversation at one point and, you know, I shared that somebody had shared with me that we're. We always need to compete at the highest level that we qualify for. I'm interested to see where you go with it. Excited to see you on television in the fall as we get closer to the Olympics. It's going to be great. So one final question for you, and thank you. This has been really great. Thank you so much for coming on the home front with us today. If you had one sentence to make an impact in someone's life, what would that be?

I can't help but go to never, ever give up. Because that is connected to the nonprofit that really helped my transition from a professional athlete to life outside of swimming. And with this nonprofit, the Jet Cerise foundation is all about spreading hope, joy, and love and encouraging kids to never, ever give up who are fighting cancer. So I've done over 150 hospital visits encouraging children to never, ever give up. And ironically, the little girl that started this foundation, that was her motto, need you. And that was my swimming career, because there was plenty of times I wanted to give up. And that story that I shared, my silver medal being my personal goals, I mean, that was just, that was literally about never giving up. And I know it sounds cliche, and I know it sounds easy, but it's the story that's resonated in my life because of what my story in the pool. And then this huge impact being a part of the Jesse Reese foundation had on my life personally. I mean, you want to talk about perspective, go do these children's hospitals visits for kids fighting cancer around the country. They did that for like five years and your life will be changed forever. They'd never, ever give up. Phrase resonates to everyone. Like, my dad wears the wristbands, and then Patrick Mahomes wears the wristband. You know, so there's my dad pushing 80 and then NFL star and they believe in. Never, ever give up. And so that's what I'm gonna leave it with, Jeff. Never, ever give up.

Caitlin, if people wanted to reach out to you, where can they find you?

Yes. So I am on social media platforms. Caitlin Sandino and my book you can find on Amazon, goldenglow. Yeah, I love to communicate. I love to connect. Social media is the easiest for me, I would say. Or I'm totally okay giving my personal email, which is just Caitlyn Sanino gmail dot com. I like to communicate.

Well, Caitlin Sandino, gold medalist, thank you so much for investing the time with us today on the home front. It has been a pleasure. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right. And as always, I am still Jeff Dutton and we continue to be on the home front, simply building the world's most responsible franchise platform, delivering enterprise level solutions to local business owners. If this sounds like something you are interested in, check us out@homefrontbrands.com today and start your next chapter. Of course, greatness on the home front. And I will be looking for you right here. Thank you.