Farrell's return started out slow, but now she is training in full swing with Trojan Swim Club (Charlie Magovern/Neon Tommy)

After 14 months of retirement, the second year graduate student in USC Annenberg School for Journalism and Communication is training in hope to compete in the Olympics for the second time. Despite encountering new challenges and obstacles during her return, Farrell was able to overcome the hardship by staying positive.

The Come Back

As a 21-year-old senior attending Indiana University, Farrell had broken six school records and qualified for the French Olympic team, winning a bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Having accomplished everything that she dreamed of as a child, Farrell felt like she had done it all. Years of rigorous swimming had taken the toll on her body and her mind. For the first time in many years, the one activity that she had loved the most was no longer fun.

“I didn’t want to swim anymore,” Farrell admitted, “I was in pain everywhere…”

A year after the Olympics, she underwent a surgery in New York for a torn labrum in her hip. She had been feeling pain before competing, but after months of aggravation, it simply became unbearable.

“I didn’t want to stress about it too much because I didn’t want to be pulled off of the team relay,” Farrell recalled.

Her arrival at USC as a graduate student in the fall of 2013 changed her perspective on swimming a little bit. Her new environment caused Farrell to think like something big was missing in her life, making her think twice about permanently stepping away from the pool.

An email from the head coach David Salo triggered nostalgic memories as a swimmer. She missed the smell of chlorine, the ice cold pool water in the early morning and the friendly banter with her teammates. Since then, slowly but surely, Farrell took steps towards reviving her career by joining the Trojan Swim Club.

Generous donations via Dreamfuel have helped Farrell cover some of her training expenses (Dreamfuel.me/Margaux Farrell)

Life Without Sponsorships

However, life of a professional swimmer can be strenuous because they need to keep winning races, in order to attract sponsorship and pay for the trainings, meets and foods. Once the swimmers are out of a college team or a national team where all the expenses are covered, they have to rely on their sponsorships to maintain a living. According to Farrell, it is a common struggle among graduated swimmers who decided to turn professional.

“All the meet entry fees, travel costs, food and lodging etc. those little things I never had to think about before tend to add up,” Farrell said.

Just when she thought things were taking a turn for the worse, Dreamfuel, a crowd funding company, reached out to her via social media. For Farrell, it was an ideal way to cover a portion of her expenses until U.S. Winter Nationals in December.

“If I make it back to the French team, then maybe I can talk more about concrete sponsorship, but up until then, this was the perfect option for me.”

Already receiving $1,775 in donations, Farrell’s Dreamfuel campaign serves as a crucial stepping stone before she seals new sponsorship deals.

Despite the intensity of the training, Farrell is enjoying every moment of it (Charlie Magovern/Neon Tommy)

Swimming With A New Mindset

Growing up, Farrell admits that her biggest enemy was her impatience with herself. Although she still often finds herself in a spiral of self doubt, she quickly realized that she is doing it all for herself.

“I am not back because of the scholarship, I’m not back because of awards or that because somebody told me to,” Farrell said. “I made this decision on my own.”

Her maturity is not only exhibited by her ability to overcome unsettling internal conflicts, but it is also shown through the way she treats every single practice. Every morning she wakes up excited to train in the pool with her teammates—a feeling that she hasn’t felt in a long time. Instead of focusing on the results or her time, Farrell is now looking to enjoy as much of her remaining swimming career as possible.

“I do remember some horrid practices that I had to do growing up, but predominantly, I remember the memory that I had laughing and having a good time with my friends,” she smiled.

Swimming beside her are some of the biggest names in modern swimming such as three-time Olympic medalist Ous Mellouli and Olympic silver medalist Haley Anderson. After all, it is the camaraderie and friendly competition in the pool that motivates her during practice.

Since the summer of 2014, Farrell has been training full throttle with the team, kick-starting her two-year battle to win her ticket to Rio 2016.

She looks forward to the day that she can sing La Marseillaise from the top of the podium.

Follow Staff Reporter Taiu Kunimoto on Twitter.