It may not surprise many people that three-time Olympian and four-time Olympic medalist Abbey Weitzeil is an overachiever.
But for the Santa Clarita native, who set national records as a Saugus High School student, she admits training for the Paris Olympics while planning a wedding is no easy feat.
“I love planning,” Weitzeil said, explaining that she has had two years to plan her wedding set for September. “If I had to do it in under a year or six months, I'd understand how crazy and stressful it would be.”
The 27-year-old became engaged to her college sweetheart during the thanksgiving weekend in November 2022.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“He got down on one knee out on the back of the terrace. It was super nice,” she recalled the proposal in Napa. ”I couldn’t stop staring at the ring.”
The record-breaking swimmer was quick to choose her wedding dress as well.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
“The lady at the store was super nice and said, ‘Try this on.’ It wasn't my style. But i put it on. I walked out. I started crying,” she described. “That’s the one.”
Weitzeil, who notably took a four-month break from swimming after the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental well-being, said she’s ready to make her third Olympic appearance the best one yet.
“I just feel so lucky and so appreciative. Just so happy to do it,” she said. “I'm really, really going to soak in every single second, and I think it'll provide even better results.”
While it’s hard to predict how many medals Weitzeil will bring back home to Southern California this time, she knows she has something else to look forward to after the Olympics.
“No matter how the summer goes, which it's going to go great, I have one of the best days of my life coming forward,” she said.
