Following the path taken by two older sisters, Abbey Weitzeil decided to try swimming as a 9-year-old in a Sacramento-area summer rec league. Three months later when the sessions ended, she quit. She just didn't like it.
 
But after skipping the next summer, Weitzeil returned to the pool, soon found the enjoyment – and success – she was seeking, and now, 10 years later, finds herself as one of the top sprint freestylers in the world.
 
Despite the late start to the sport, her talents in the water have resulted in such lofty honors as American-record holder, U.S. Trials champion and Olympic medalist.
 
Weitzeil and the rest of her Golden Bear teammates are geared up for this week's Pac-12 Championships, which run Wednesday through Saturday in Federal Way, Washington. Weitzeil is the top seed in both the 50- and 100-yard free and will play a key role on multiple Cal relays for the third-ranked Bears.
 
Weitzeil, whose family has since relocated to southern California, initially signed with Cal in the fall of 2014. With the Olympics on the horizon, she elected to defer enrollment for a year to keep training with her club coach at Canyons Aquatic Club.
 
"I wanted to stay with what I knew would work and what I believed in at the time, just so I was more comfortable and didn't have to change anything," Weitzeil said. "Coming into college, there's a lot of change – the food aspect, the dorms – so it was easier for me to put everything into swimming and not have to worry about school."
 
The decision clearly was the right one as Weitzeil proceeded to swim the fastest time ever in the 50-yard free, going 21.12 last March. A little over three months later, she won both the 50-meter free and 100-meter free at the Olympic Trials to earn a spot on the U.S. team for Rio. At the Games, she secured a pair of medals, claiming silver on the 400-meter free relay and gold on the 400-meter medley relay.
 
Once the Olympics ended, Weitzeil transitioned into her new environment in Berkeley. Not only did she have to get used to living away from home, but she also had to acclimate to school after a year away from studies, as well as to new teammates and a new coach.
 
"It's been better than I expected," Weitzeil said. "I think I've adjusted better than I thought I would. Coming here and experiencing something new has been great. It's refreshing."
 
Cal coach Teri McKeever, the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's team head coach, has seen her fair share of swimmers return from high-level international competition and have to acquaint themselves to the college regimen.
 
"I think she's just now giving herself credit," McKeever said. "The freshman year of college is a huge transition no matter who you are. I think she's done a really nice job and I'm really excited to see what she can do going into Pac-12's and the rest of her time at Cal."
 
As a sprint freestyler, Weitzeil joins a crew that has become one of the strongest aspects of the Cal program. Senior Farida Osman is a two-time Pac-12 champion in the 50 free and the current school-record holder (21.32), and the Bears are the two-time defending NCAA champions in the 200 free relay, a group that included Osman, Kristen Vredeveld, Valerie Hull and Amy Bilquist last year.
 
"She has a very competitive spirit," McKeever said. "She doesn't like to lose. I think every team needs multiple people like that. She's also willing to do the work to be one of the world's best sprinters. The sprinter in a collegiate program is really a key piece to a lot of individual and relay success. To have one of the best in the world is a nice card to be able to play as a coach. After taking a year off and it really being about her individual performance, I think she's done an amazing job of being unselfish and being a part of the team and willing to help us in different areas."
 
One of those different areas is the breaststroke. When McKeever looked at putting together her 200 medley relay, she knew already had a strong freestyle in Osman, who has anchored three different relays to national titles. So McKeever inserted Weitzeil on the breaststroke leg during a December meet in Georgia, and the result was the third-fastest time in school history.
 
"I knew that she was a breaststroker when she first started swimming and I knew she was fast," McKeever said. "I didn't know she was going to step into it as well as she has. I think it's been fun for her to do it and it's been a nice bonus for us."
 
Added Osman: "It's fun to have her there. She's very competitive and I'm very competitive. She brings a lot positive energy to practice. I just love watching her race. She just puts her heart out there. I love relays and having Abbey on it makes it way more fun."
 
With her first conference and national championship meets straight ahead, Weitzeil has set some ambitious goals. Based on her previous results and her drive to win, they fit right in with her personality.
 
"I'd love to go back and break my American record and hopefully bring some titles home," Weitzeil said of NCAA's that are scheduled for March 15-18 in Indianapolis. "It's going to be an insane meet. It's going to be fun and crazy. I like to win, like a lot of people do. I'm sure there's not one of us out there that doesn't."
 
With the drive for success her Cal teammates clearly have, Weitzeil fits right in.