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Though she has been a lifelong swimmer, Torri Huske never dreamed as a kid that she would go to the Olympics.
In fact, she doesn’t even remember the race when she first made an Olympic trials-qualifying time three years ago.
But winning the 100-meter butterfly at Winter Nationals in 2019 was “the first time I considered that I had the chance to qualify and compete,” she told ARLnow.
From then until this June, she focused on making the Olympic trials, repeating a mantra that “everything will take care of itself.”
And it did.
An 18-year-old Yorktown High School graduate and a lifelong member of the Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC), Huske represented the U.S. in three races in the recently-concluded summer Olympics in Tokyo. She and her team earned a silver medal in the women’s relay, she narrowly missed the podium in the 100-meter butterfly, and her mixed medley team came in fifth.
“I’m really happy, looking back on the experience. It was a fun time and I learned a lot,” she said.
Huske recalls exploring the Olympic Village and seeing the U.S. flag flying and hanging out in her room, where she played Uno with her suitemates during their downtime.
“The village was really cool,” she said. “We weren’t allowed to go outside it, but I got to know my roommates and suitemates really well.”
Even the coronavirus-related changes did not feel strange, she said. She slept no differently on the cardboard beds, and the camaraderie in the village kept the swimmers afloat during the races.
“It was weird with no spectators, but our team did a good job creating energy by cheering and having positive energy overall,” she said.
She returned to Arlington one week ago to a hero’s welcome. This week, she’s at the beach, taking her mind off swimming before she heads off to college.
“I’ve been working so hard for so long that I need a mental break — more than physically — to be excited to work again. Otherwise, I’ll be burnt out again,” she said.
But the races will keep her motivated while she swims for Stanford University.
“I’m grateful for all my races,” she said, even the new, co-ed mixed medley race, which “was hard for me to move on from.”
One specific technical change Huske said she’ll make is improving her ability to judge her distance from the wall, a lesson she learned from her 100-meter butterfly. Other than that, her body just has to absorb this competition experience into its muscle memory for future races.
“The more you race, the better you are, and the more you know what to do,” she said.
At the Olympic level, her AAC coach Evan Stiles explains, something as small as a last-second decision to glide for a few extra milliseconds instead of taking another stroke can affect a swimmer’s rank. Read More
Last night Olympic swimmer and Arlingtonian Torri Huske was greeted at Dulles International Airport by 40 friends and family members.
The 18-year-old Yorktown High School grad flew back from Tokyo Olympics after competing in three swimming contests, earning a silver medal in one event, as part of the U.S. women’s 4×100 medley relay team, and narrowly missing the podium in the individual 100-meter butterfly race.
From Dulles, her friends drove her almost all the way home — but just before reaching their destination, feigned a wrong turn and ended up in the parking lot of Glebe Elementary School.
There, she was surprised by the flashing lights of Arlington police and fire trucks — the latter of which had hoisted a 50-foot American flag in the air. Below were somewhere between 200 and 300 family members, friends, teammates from Arlington Aquatics Club and Yorktown High School, as well as younger AAC swimmers, her second-grade teacher and other Arlington Public Schools staff who helped the Huskes through the years.
“It was a magical night,” her father, Jim Huske, tells ARLnow.
The event was organized by the Arlington Aquatics Club, offered by Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation, and the club with which Torri has swam since she was five years old. Although the Huskes knew the surprise event was coming, they didn’t know how many people to expect. And news of the surprise greeting spread quickly.
“I think I knew 80% of the people there,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Last night we had the privilege of welcoming home #Olympics medalist Torri Huske. Welcome home!! pic.twitter.com/hHYsXYcTmR
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) August 3, 2021
Cheering fans held glow sticks and signs, and Torri took photos with young swimmers who look up to her, Parks Department spokeswoman Susan Kalish said. The fire department gave her an honorary shirt and patch.
“Everyone was so excited for her and there was so much joy in the air,” she said. “Torri made a beeline for Evan Stiles, her coach, to give him a big hug when she got out of the car.”
Stiles has been her coach for the last four years, Huske said. He credited him, and all of Torri’s coaches, as well as the local connections who helped Torri find suitable pools to practice in, and APS staff for getting his daughter to the Olympics.
“Everybody has a little piece of that medal, whether they realize it or not, and she knows,” Huske said.
He added that his family is “so proud of her of her swimming. She always wants to do better. She gave it her best at that time, she’s looking forward to the opportunity to represent America again. We’re so proud of how she handled it. At 18, all those young kids, they all banded together, and all helped each other. They did a phenomenal job to support each other, from soup to nuts.”
After heartbreak in a race last weekend, Arlington swimming phenom Torri Huske will be coming home with some Olympic hardware after all.
Huske was part of the U.S. women’s 4×100 medley relay team that won silver in a race that was televised nationally Saturday night.
The team was bolstered by a strong 56.16 second performance by Huske, who swam the butterfly leg of the medley, but came up just short of gold. The U.S. finished 0.13 seconds behind the Australian team, which set an Olympic record with a time of 3:51.60.
A week ago, Huske finished 0.01 seconds away from the bronze medal and 0.14 seconds from gold in the individual 100-meter butterfly race. The 18-year-old Yorktown High School grad, who will attend Stanford in the fall, was also on a mixed medley team that missed the medal podium this past week.
Reaction to the medal-winning relay performance via social media, below.
Yeah so all we saw in that race was MORE MEDALS FOR STANFORD
🥈 @reganesmith4
🥈 Torri Huske#GoStanford | @stanfordwswim
pic.twitter.com/hHLUzu89Mb— Stanford Cardinal (@GoStanford) August 1, 2021
It's a silver medal for #USA in the women's 4x100m medley relay!@fina1908 #Swimming @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/CIW9AnzgfQ
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/USASwimming/status/1421658186210185219
https://twitter.com/stanfordwswim/status/1421661277189906436
Yorktown High School grad Torri Huske appeared poised for victory in the 100-meter butterfly last night in Tokyo, but ended up just off the Olympic podium by a tiny fraction of a second.
The 18-year-old was out in front by a head down the stretch, but ended up finishing at 55.73 seconds, 0.01 seconds away from the bronze medal and just 0.14 seconds after the gold medal time.
Arlington Aquatic Club teammates and other supporters cheered Huske on from Dudley’s Sport and Ale in Shirlington, as seen on NBC’s Olympics Twitter account, below.
Despite the disappointment, Huske is still early in her competitive swimming career. She will attend Stanford in the fall, swimming on the school’s elite women’s team, and will be a favorite to return to the Olympics in three years in Paris.
More from social media:
Wow, what a race. Torri Huske misses the podium by .01 seconds! pic.twitter.com/BYgA14UeoR
— Kelyn Soong (@KelynSoong) July 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1419480533617283074
Uggh so close for Huske to win a medal. 1/100th away from Bronze. Great race though! #Tokyo2020 #TeamUSA https://t.co/PmpawHmnrq
— Anthony D'Agostino (@ADagostinoTV) July 26, 2021
Torri Huske came JUST short of a medal at the #TokyoOlympics, but the support she had at home during her final is worthy of the GOLD. pic.twitter.com/jJMxDQ3mbz
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/stanfordwswim/status/1419472245039063043
Torri Huske will be back. She’s going to be a superstar in Paris 2024.
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) July 26, 2021
Arlington’s own Torri Huske has set a new American swimming record and secured a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in Tokyo this summer.
The 18-year-old phenom, who’s graduating from Yorktown High School and is set to attend Stanford University, posted a time of 55.66 seconds in the 100-meter women’s butterfly at last night’s Olympic trials. It was the second night in a row in which Huske set an American record in the event on national television — she did so in the semifinals on Sunday night as well, with a time of 55.78 seconds.
“It was just really surreal, I just feel that it hasn’t even set in yet that I’m at Olympic trials,” Huske said in an interview. “So the fact that I’m now going to be part of the Olympic team and representing our country is just unbelievable. It hasn’t really sunk in yet… it was kind of just like shock when I touched the wall.”
Psst…it's real. #SwimTrials21 pic.twitter.com/ifOHYvJJzz
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) June 15, 2021
Congratulations flowed in after Huske’s record-setting swim — down to Huske’s former elementary school in Arlington.
Congratulations Torri! We'll be cheering you on this summer. #olympics2021 https://t.co/1WwFn23yLo
— Arlington Public Schools (@APSVirginia) June 15, 2021
The swim cap worn by Huske and seen across the country was that of the county-run Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC), which is coached by Alexandria native Evan Stiles.
Huske has been smashing records during her high school career at Yorktown and at AAC. As of last year before the pandemic, she had yet to lose an individual race on the high school level. NBC Sports reports that she “used the extra Olympic year to become one of the U.S.’ fastest swimmers.”
Huske may yet have other events in which to compete in Japan. She is also competing at in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle races at the Olympic trials this week, as well as the 200-meter individual medley, according to the Washington Post.
Whiskey Bar Coming to Clarendon — “Chicken + Whiskey is branching out into Northern Virginia. The Peruvian rotisserie chicken restaurant and whiskey bar, which got its start from a smaller location in Logan Circle in 2017, has inked a deal for a new location near the Clarendon Metro in Arlington County. The 5,708-square-foot restaurant is slated to open late this year or early next at 3033 Wilson Blvd.” [Washington Business Journal]
It’s Flood Awareness Week — “Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States and it is becoming more frequent with climate change. As we head into the typical rainy season, Arlington County and Fairfax County are teaming up for Virginia Flood Awareness Week to get out key messages of being informed and prepared.” [Arlington County]
Bill to Limit Gov. Powers — “Five of Arlington’s seven-member General Assembly delegation voted in support of a measure that will limit the power of governors to act unilaterally for an indeterminate period in a crisis. Legislation sponsored by state Sen. David Suetterlein (R-Roanoke) on March 9 cleared the House of Delegates on a 91-8 vote, following earlier passage in the state Senate by a margin of 29-11. Gov. Youngkin is expected to sign the bill.” [Sun Gazette]
Arlington Kids Hold Ukraine Bake Sale — “Our boys and friends wanted to do something to help the people of #Ukraine – they decided on a bake sale. They raised $900+ today and it’s now headed to medical staff that are getting supplies to the Ukraine/Poland border. Nice job kiddos.” [Twitter]
Bishop O’Connell Swimmer Stands Out — “For Kate Bailey, her time to receive deserved recognition as a standout high-school swimmer in Arlington came this season in her final senior campaign. During past winter years, Bailey and other top local swimmers performed in the shadow of 2022 Yorktown High School graduate and Summer Olympian Torri Huske. With Huske now swimming in college at Stanford University, Bailey’s accomplishments this winter drew more attention.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Monday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 58 and low of 31. Sunrise at 7:22 am and sunset at 7:16 pm. [Weather.gov]
Towers Coming to Site in National Landing — “Developers have closed on the purchase of a vacant site near Crystal City and Potomac Yard in Arlington, a transaction that paves the way for a new two-building project there.” [Washington Business Journal]
Anti-Vaccine-Mandate Rally Growing — “The event, called ‘Defeat the Mandates: An American Homecoming,’ plans a march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial… [A spokesperson] says the group has more than 36,000 signups; a permit application filed with the National Park Service… says it expects 20,000 people.” Organizers have been encouraging attendees to stay in Arlington. [Washingtonian]
Keep Uncollected Bins Out — “Curbside recycling/trash/organics collection resumed Monday, Jan. 10, following last week’s storms. Keep any carts left unemptied this week at the curb through Saturday, Jan. 15. The County’s contractor is making progress collecting about twice the regular tonnage but runs are slower, trucks fill faster and Covid has affected staffing.” [Arlington County]
MLK Mass This Weekend — “On Sunday, January 16, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, will celebrate a Mass in Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. The annual Mass honors the life and legacy of the late civil rights leader who was slain almost 54 years ago.” [Catholic Diocese of Arlington]
Shred and Recycling Material Drop-Off — Each Arlington resident can shred up to two boxes or bags of paper or unload a small truckload of inert materials for free at a regularly held recycling event this Saturday. [Arlington County]
Return of 7000 Series Delayed Again — “Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Wiedefeld said today he will not resume the placement of 7000-series trains into passenger service for about 90 days to allow Metro engineering and mechanical experts time to focus on root cause analysis and acquire technology to measure 7000-series wheelsets. During the 90-day period, Metro will accelerate efforts to restore 6000-series railcars to increase the availability of newer cars in the fleet and improve reliability for customers.” [WMATA, Washington Post]
It’s Friday — Today will be mostly sunny, with a high near 46. North wind 8 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Sunrise at 7:25 a.m. and sunset at 5:10 p.m. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 27. North wind 7 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. On Sunday, snow is likely after 1 p.m. [Weather.gov]
Photo courtesy of Huskerdont/Flickr
ARLnow is ringing in the New Year with a look back at 2021 through our photo archives.
We compiled a slideshow to encapsulate this year and recall some of the stories and moments that made 2021 memorable.
This year, Arlingtonians celebrated local heroes, pushed for and saw cultural changes and said goodbye to venerable institutions — all against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic.
Olympic swimmer Torri Huske received a hero’s welcome home from Japan, while “superwoman” Mariflor Ventura received accolades for her local mutual aid efforts.
Arlington removed vestiges of Robert E. Lee’s legacy, renaming Route 29 Langston Blvd and replacing the county logo depicting his house with one that ARLnow readers helped bring about. Teens protested how public school administrators handle complaints of sexual assault while bus drivers demonstrated for better pay and treatment. Locals picked up free cannabis seeds after private use was legalized.
But 2021 was the end of an era for some beloved Arlington institutions: Inner Ear Studios, the recording studio for Minor Threat and Fugazi; Clarendon watering hole Whitlow’s on Wilson; the Highlander Motel; and a few (arguably) historic estates.
Amid all that, the pandemic continued to run its course. After a chaotic start, the county helped to administer the vaccine to tens of thousands of residents. Locals started eating out again, kids returned for in-person school, and there was optimism about a return to normalcy over the summer — until that faded with the Delta variant and, now, Omicron.
And we almost got a gondola — or, at least, that’s what some want to believe.
With that we’ll step aside for the long weekend and see you back here on Monday, in 2022. Happy New Year, Arlington!
This year saw major changes to how Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools run community swim classes, to the surprise of some locals.
In July, Arlington Public Schools launched the APS Aquatics School for students and residents, while the county opened the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center in August.
APS’s new program prompted the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation to relocate most of its classes from local public high schools to the new facility near Crystal City. Since September, Long Bridge has been home to all county classes — save youth swim team practices — which officials say centralizes the county’s program and serves more people.
“Arlington County has long known the community demand for aquatics programs far exceeded the pool capacity in Arlington Public Schools,” said parks department spokeswoman Susan Kalish. “Opening a long-awaited community treasure is hard enough, opening it amidst a pandemic has been amazing. We are happy as to how the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center has been received. And with the opening, there are now more opportunities than ever.”
Until this fall, DPR scheduled all classes, competitive swim team training and public swim time in the pools at Wakefield, Washington-Liberty and Yorktown high schools. With Long Bridge and the new school program up and running, APS and DPR are hammering out a new policy for sharing facilities. In the meantime, folks are still learning about and adjusting to the changes, per social media and emails to ARLnow.
“This is huge,” one tipster tells us. “The neighborhood school pools are one of the silent gems of Arlington… I don’t think anyone thought the aquatic center would take neighborhood pool classes.”
The school system started its swim class program on July 14 to recover more of the costs to maintain the pools and offer affordable classes, APS spokesman Frank Bellavia said.
Initially, Kalish says the school system asked DPR to move all programs to Long Bridge, including practice for the youngest members of Arlington Aquatic Club — the county-run competitive swim program that helped train Olympic medalist Torri Huske.
“It became apparent that youth swim teams are more successful when their training base is close to home,” she said. “This school year, per [a School Board policy], APS is allowing five practice groups to train about 15 hours a week at Wakefield and W-L pools.”
DPR decides which groups to schedule at the high school pools and pays APS to use them, Bellavia said.
Today, APS offers drowning prevention and learn-to-swim classes for babies, toddlers, children and adults, and fitness classes for adults and seniors.
Classes are staffed and filling up, Bellavia says, despite difficulties recruiting lifeguards and swimming instructors — another impact of nationwide workforce shortages.
“[The] APS Aquatics School implementation plan is on schedule and both the Summer and Fall term have been fully staffed and the courses, especially PreK School and Swim School, have been fully subscribed with a few experiencing small waitlist,” Bellavia said.
Classes generally fill up within the first week of registration, which opens 30 days before the session starts, he added.
“We have a new teacher who is very good,” said one Facebook user of her experience in W-L’s water aerobics class. “I get a true workout.”
Likewise, Kalish says the Long Bridge aquatics programs are “very popular.”
Fitness buffs, lap swimmers, curious residents and families with kids could be seen trickling into the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center this morning (Monday), on the opening day of the new facility.
A 12-year-old girl from Dorothy Hamm Middle School was the first to jump into the water, according to the Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish.
Later, when an ARLnow reporter visited the facility, a five-year-old boy could be heard wondering how tall the diving boards were, while a handful of adults worked out upstairs in an 8,000-square-foot fitness center. More families showed up later in the morning.
The county put $2 million in donations from Boeing toward opening the center at 475 Long Bridge Drive this summer. At one point, a July opening seemed possible, but delays pushed the date back to August.
Four years after the project was approved, the 92,000-square-foot swimming and recreation facility — the second of four phases to redevelop Long Bridge Park — is officially open. It boasts a pool for serious swimmers and one for recreational swimmers, with numerous community amenities, from spas to community rooms.
“We have a full certificate of occupancy, but there is still a punch list” of tasks to complete before the center is fully done, said Peter Lusk, the athletic and facilities services division chief for the county.
Kalish said the parks department will transfer many of its swimming programs to the center, which “will help the community a lot,” as pre-pandemic, swimming classes hosted at pools in Arlington Public Schools filled up quickly.
Parks department classes are due to restart in mid-September, “the first time in 17 months,” Lusk said.
Competitive swimmers, water polo players and synchronized swimmers can use a 79-degree pool that can be configured for either 25-yard laps or 50-meter ones, using moveable starting platforms. There’s also an area for spectators upstairs.
Some younger recreational swimmers will remain at local school pools, as parents expressed concerns about travel times to Long Bridge Park.
The Aquatics Center “will be the home of the Arlington Aquatic Club,” Kalish said, referencing the county-run competitive swim program that helped to train Olympic medalist Torri Huske. “Younger ones will swim in school pool closer to home.”
Recreational swimmers can use a family pool with a splash pad, a water slide, four 25-yard lap lanes, a lazy river and a spa. The pool is 83-84 degrees for tots, seniors, and those doing therapeutic water activities. The lap lanes can be used for water volleyball and basketball, which Kalish said the department is “hoping this will be a draw for millenials.”
Nearby, “wet” meeting rooms can be used classes and for birthday parties.
Kalish shared grand visions for bringing out the community, from hosting big swim meets and using a large screen for movie nights, renting out open spaces and turning part of the facility’s new parking lot into farmer’s markets and wine tastings.
Prices for passes range by age group, and reductions are available to income-eligible residents. Daily admission ranges from $5-9 per person or $25 for families, and an annual pass ranges from $350-630 per person or $1,750 for families.
Boeing, for whom one pool is named, is making about 5,000 daily passes available to active duty military families in the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore’s service area for free through a lottery system.
The project has been in the works for nearly a decade, attracting some controversy along the way.
Opening Date Set for Aquatics Center — The new Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center will open on Monday, Aug. 23, the Arlington Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced yesterday. [Twitter]
Local Org Resettling Afghan Refugees — “Besides Lutheran Social Services, the [Arlington-based] Ethiopian Community Development Council, the International Rescue Committee, and Catholic Charities do a lot of work to resettle Afghan [Special Immigrant Visa] holders in this area. Christy McCaw of African Community Center DC Metro, the ECDC’s resettlement branch, says her organization needs leads on apartments that will rent to newcomers without proof of income.” [Washingtonian]
Broken Water Main Causes Pressure Problems — From the Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services yesterday: “A crew is stabilizing a broken water main that has caused pressure issues in the vicinity of Campbell Elementary School along S. Carlin Springs Road. Pressure should be returning to normal within the hour. Traffic diverted around work site. The break is on a 20-inch main. Greatest impact of pressure loss along Carlin Springs Rd from Rt 50 south to Columbia Pike and near the intersection of Wilson Blvd and George Mason.” [Twitter]
New W-L History Marker Under Consideration — “Four years after the installation of a marker celebrating the history of Washington-Lee High School was scotched by leaders of the county school system, a proposed revised marker – honoring the school now known as Washington-Liberty – is wending its way through the development process.” [Sun Gazette]
Next Community Convo with Police Chief — “Join Chief Penn and members of ACPD at the next Community Conversations with the Chief to share your thoughts on the future of policing in Arlington! Our next conversation will take place on Friday from 10 AM to 12 PM at Metro 29 Diner located at 4711 Lee Highway.” [Twitter]
Huske Signs Sponsorship Deal — “2020 U.S. Olympic medalist [and Arlington resident] Torri Huske announced that she’s signed a swimwear deal with TYR on Friday, making her the third high-profile swimmer set to begin their freshman year of college to do so. Huske, 18, will join Stanford University in the upcoming collegiate season. Terms of the deal have not been made public.” [SwimSwam]
Youth Baseball Team’s Championship Run — “Overcoming four tournament losses, the 9-under Arlington Storm Black managed to finish second in the Babe Ruth World Series. The Storm lost in the ultimate title game of the baseball tournament in Jensen Beach, Fla., by a 7-3 score, to Florence, Ala. The meeting was the fourth between the teams in the competition. About 90 minutes earlier that same day, Arlington had previously routed Florence, 11-1, to force a playback game between the two teams in the championship round.” [Sun Gazette]
Reminder: N. Glebe Road Closure — “All lanes of N. Glebe Road between Military Road and Chain Bridge Road, in the northern tip of Arlington, [are now] closed for construction… The nine-day closure is the culmination of the $10 million rehabilitation project for the nearly 50-year-old bridge over Pimmit Run, just before Chain Bridge. Between Friday, Aug. 13 and Monday, Aug. 23, crews will work to replace the entire bridge deck and its underlying beams.” [ARLnow]
