SULLIVAN Erica

General
JAPAN CONNECTION
Her mother is Japanese and Erica speaks fluent Japanese. In 2021 she talked about her relationship with the country. "It's literally my second home and I love it there. I found that in recent years I tend to identify with my Japanese side more than with my American side." (usaswimming.org, 20 Nov 2020; The Social Kick YouTube channel, 26 Jun 2021)

REPRESENTATION
In 2017 she came out publicly as gay. She says she embraces her role representing both the Asian-American and the queer communities on the US Olympic team in 2021. "A lot of people don't originally know [that she is Asian-American] because I look very white. But I know a lot of people who find me through the queer community first and then they're like 'Oh, she's Asian-American, too.' So it becomes like an umbrella representing with the queer community and the Asian-American community, it's like a little double combo." (The Social Kick YouTube channel, 26 Jun 2021)

FATHER INSIPIRATION
In 2017 she lost her father John to cancer. "He was diagnosed in April 2017, and he passed in July 2017. Growing up, I'd go to Japan to visit family. He'd find a pool for me to train at. He always kept me on top of my game. He was my motivator. He kept me sharp. After he passed, it was hard for a really long time. I know he wanted me to keep training through a lot of it. So I did. And I made the national team for the first time four weeks after he passed. So that's a really nice feeling. Like, 'hey, look what I did.' I'd like to think he'd be proud of me where I am right now." She says she has struggled with mental health after her father's passing and had to deal with anxiety, panic attacks, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder for several years. "Over the years I've been really learning to try to turn everything off in my head and just be able to do what I needed to do. It's good to be able to shut everything off and have swimming as kind of escape during all this stuff." In 2020 she said she wanted to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo for herself and her father. "I know my dad will be there cheering me on. In fact, he would be a wreck. He was such an emotional fellow. He'd be crying for days on end." (usaswimming.org, 20 Nov 2020; The Social Kick YouTube channel, 26 Jun 2021; teamusa.org, 23 Jun 2021)

COLLEGE PLANS
She originally committed to the University of Southern California [USC] where she would have been a freshman in 2018 and would train under coaches Dave Salo and Catherine Kase, but deferred her enrolment until after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In the meantime she continued training with the Sandpipers of Nevada in Las Vegas. In 2020 both Salo and Kase announced that they would be leaving USC and the 2020 Olympic Games were postponed to 2021. She eventually withdrew her commitment to USC and announced she would be joining the University of Texas after the 2020 Olympic Games. "The three years have been very long, Everyone on the pool deck can testify because they're always like, 'When are you going to college?' I was like 'I don't even know anymore.' It's new and I've changed a lot and I think where Texas is right now is just the better fit for where I am right now." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 30 Apr 2021; teamusa.org, 23 Jun 2021)