Olivia Smoliga Skipping Nationals After Appendix Removal Finds Hernia
Two-time Olympian Olivia Smoliga will not be competing at the U.S. National Championships this week in Irvine, California.
Smoliga posted on Instagram that she had her appendix removed and it revealed another injury, a hernia, causing her to pull out of the meet.
“A few weeks ago I had to get my appendix removed and they found a hernia in my belly too,” Olivia Smoliga wrote on her Instagram story. “I’ve been laying low at home. Recovery is going really well, just won’t be able be at Nationals this week. I can’t wait to watch everyone crush.”
Smoliga has moved to Frisco, Texas, to swim with Texas Ford Aquatics with Coley Stickels. She has started a swim academy and a podcast.
She is still aiming for LA 28.
“My goal is to go all the way with it – to fall in love with everything I do, celebrating the process and the progress,” Smoliga told Swimming World earlier this year. “I know the way I will get to my other goals is through who I will become. I want to step up on the blocks at Olympic Trials and feel free, like I did everything to prepare.”
