El Paso swimmer training to earn spot on U.S. Olympic Team

Three El Pasoans will complete next week with hopes of achieving their dream: earning a spot in the U.S. Olympic team.

17-year-old Sean Greishop is one of them.

“What I saw when he was 7 is the same thing I see today, unbelievable passion,” said Sean’s mother, and former Good Morning El Paso Anchor, Ann Semmer Greishop. “One of his coaches says he has the ‘it’ factor.”

Greishop has qualified in seven of 19 events of the trails at Omaha, Nebraska. He has a junior world record and a junior gold medal.

Three years ago, the Greishop family moved to Austin to help Sean Greishop develop his swimming. “It was hard leaving El Paso, our home, our church, our family” Ann said.

World renowned swimmers Michel Phelps, Ryan Lockte, and Katie Ladek have been training Sean, Ann said. “It’s really cool when you see your kid go after his dream and get his dream,” she said.

During the trails, cable channel Lifetime will feature Sean and his family on the docu-series “Gold Medal Families” on June 28.

The show looks at all the people who come together to help the person on the podium holding a medal.

“I get to embrace the challenge of going in every every day and working hard an I do live by the motto: ‘every practice counts,'” Sean said.

He also considers resting important. “I took a few days off just to get my head back on and focus energy and I feel like I’ve come back stronger than ever,” Sean said. “I believe that in my heart that every single thing I do during the day ultimately should make me a better person and a better athlete.”

The other two El Pasoans who will compete for a spot in the olympics are Will Licon and Kellie Conrad.