Viewers of the U.S. swimming trials for the Olympics have been privy to a fun entertainment bonus: the signature dance routines performed by Olympic hopeful and Erdenheim native Sierra Schmidt, writes Layla A. Jones for Billy Penn.

Thanks to the rhythmic moves she performs while wearing noise-canceling headphones or earbuds before scaling the platform, Schmidt has been dubbed the “Dancing Queen.”

“Everyone has their own pre-race routine,” said Schmidt. “And for me it’s, it’s the dancing. Mine’s just a little bit more unique.”

She also encourages all the swimmers she talks to, especially the younger ones, “to experiment with pre-race routines.”

And the accomplished swimmer’s results are even better than her choreographed warm-ups.

These include breaking the Pan American Games record for the 800-meter freestyle in 2015, gold and silver medals in the World Junior Championships, a bronze medal in the 2017 World University Games, a relay gold medal in the 2019 World University Games, and a 2021 Big Ten championship win for the 800-meter relay.

Now, even though she failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics, and did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, she will still swim and dance on.

Read more about Sierra Schmidt in Billy Penn.