Published: December 20, 2021

Making Olympic Magic Happen

As the world watched the Tokyo Olympics in awe this past summer – and looks ahead to the upcoming Winter Games in Beijing – three UT alumni were busy playing strategic roles behind the scenes of the world’s largest sports stage.

By Jessica Blatt Press | Illustrations by Taylor Callery

It was an Olympics like no other. With the pandemic postponing the 2020 Summer Olympics until 2021, preparations could’ve been sent into a tailspin; instead, thanks to the hard work of thousands, the Summer Olympics in Tokyo went off with the excitement and enthusiasm the games have always been known for, and the Winter Games in Beijing in 2022 are on track to be just as riveting.

Playing a part in pulling it off were three UT alumni: Phil Murray ’03, associate teaching professor of chemistry and assistant swimming coach at UT; Hassani Watson M.S. ’17, who was recently a performance coach for the Chinese Olympic Committee; and Hana van Loock ’21, who was a stringer and interpreter for ZDF, the German public-service television broadcaster. 

Here’s a look at the meaningful roles they each played to help shine a light on some of the world’s most elite and spellbinding athletes.

THE OPTIMISTIC OPTIMIZER: 

HASSANI WATSON M.S. ’17 Many traits speak to Hassani Watson’s grit. There’s his adaptability, for one: Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he moved to New York City for elementary school, then to Atlanta as a teen. There was his academic scholarship to Valdosta State University in Georgia for his undergrad degree. There was his resilience in the face of a partially-torn ACL that ended his basketball pursuits in college and set him on course to spare other athletes from similar fates by becoming a strength and conditioning coach, which he did through the master’s program in exercise and nutrition science at UT. But perhaps the ultimate sign of Watson’s commitment just may be ... his Toyota Highlander?

“That car probably had 200,000 miles on it,” he says, chuckling. “But it got me from Tampa to Clearwater to St. Pete almost every other day during my master’s program, then from Florida to Washington, D.C., and from D.C. back to Atlanta.” All that traveling? It was in the name of pursuing hands-on internships to complement the cutting-edge classroom and lab learning Watson was doing throughout the grad program at UT. And the reputation he created for himself at each of those internships ultimately opened the door for one of his many impressed bosses to invite Watson to travel to China in 2018 to help train the men’s and women’s rowing teams and then the women’s freestyle BMX team for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Then, the pandemic happened, and the cycling team was unable to travel for enough qualifying competitions. But leaders recognized a star when they saw one in Watson, and kept him on to train swimmers. 

The role of a strength and conditioning coach is, essentially, to keep athletes performing at their peak level. Unlike personal trainers — famous for barking orders from the sidelines of the gym — strength and conditioning coaches consider a host of factors in optimizing athletes’ performance. “I’m part of a team, and our sole job is to get athletes ready to perform their best,” he says. Watson has worked with athletes in large groups of 100-plus — like high school and college football teams — and one-on-one, as with swimmers, at all times mapping out the right balance of training and nutrition, and applying what he learns from the ever-changing science behind sport. “I probably have 30 tabs open on my computer at any given time,” he says, referring to the scientific journal articles and coaching mentorship networks he keeps up with. He was particularly gratified to bring some of UT’s research on blood flow restriction with him to China.

"(The mental aspect) is kind of an overlooked part of performance, but it’s highly important.” – Hassani Watson M.S. ’17, a former performance coach for the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Then there’s the mental aspect of competition. “It’s kind of an overlooked part of performance, but it’s highly important,” he says. He’s been known to field 2 a.m. calls from stressed athletes, helping walk them back from their anxiety and ground them in what they can control.

With the end of the Summer Games, Watson then moved on to train athletes for the Winter Games in Beijing, namely speed-skaters and cross-country skiers. And that ability to pivot — to new sports, new athletes, new training facilities and a new language, which he’s been learning through Chinese classes — is the trait that Watson believes is the most important one a strength and conditioning coach can have. 

“The best coaches make things really simple. For me, it’s basically like a puzzle. I walk into a gym, designate particular spaces for certain groups of athletes or individuals —and then have to be open to recreating whatever I’ve done on short notice if our venue changes, as it can. You can’t be too fixated on anything here, because things change pretty often, and change fast. You’ll get pretty frustrated if you’re not open to change,” he says.

“There was definitely a culture shock coming here — the food, the language. My first night in Beijing, I didn’t even know how to turn on the power in my room. But it’s 100% about how you can adapt. I’ve learned way more patience here than I have anywhere else,” he says.

Of course, one has to wonder, given his experience with high-profile Olympians, what advice Watson might share with the average athlete, the weekend warrior looking to get in shape? For Watson, it comes down to one word: “Consistency. That’s the big thing. Obviously, you’re not going to be an Olympian — but being consistent in what you’re doing is what produces the results.” 

Hassani Watson, M.S. ’17, a former performance coach for the Chinese Olympic Committee, helps an Olympian stretch. Photograph courtesy of Hassani Watson M.S. ’17

THE UNOFFICIAL AMBASSADOR: 

PHIL MURRAY ’03 Phil Murray is like a fish for hire — if fish had Ph.D.s, professorships and experience competing on and coaching college swim teams. He was the person tasked with installing 30 underwater cameras along a precise grid on the floor of the Olympic pool so that judges could accurately — and instantaneously — capture disqualifications during races.

“The cameras have to be properly aligned to see every swimmer throughout the entire length of the pool, in every moment.” – Phil Murray ’03, Associate Teaching Professor of Chemistry and Assistant Swimming Coach at UT

“The cameras have to be properly aligned to see every swimmer throughout the entire length of the pool, in every moment,” explains the Florida native. “The setup itself takes about two days, and I was in the water almost the entire time during those days. I would put on a swimsuit and goggles and jump in the pool, then come up, take a breath and go back down. It’s a heck of a workout!” 

So how does one land a gig that’s so precisely at the intersection of his interests and talents? Credit for that goes to the tight-knit UT network: A fellow former UT swimmer, Meredith Roberts ’05, reached out to Murray back in 2013 when her company was looking for a swimmer to help install cameras for the World Swimming Championships in Indianapolis. “Pretty much every summer since then, I’ve done a major swim meet,” Murray says. 

The work has led Murray to Australia, Japan, Canada, South Korea and beyond. But the Tokyo Olympics were particularly poignant. “Swimming in the Olympics is the marquee event, the pinnacle of our sport, and it’s hard to even put into words what it felt like to be right there on the pool deck as all of those major events were happening,” he says. While on that pool deck, Murray, who’s also in charge of international recruitment for the UT swim team, made sure to don his Tampa swimsuit — and inevitably ended up in conversations with coaches and athletes from around the world, who remarked to him how impressive UT’s athletic and academic programs are. “These are people I’d never otherwise have a chance to talk to, but they reach out because they recognize what we have to offer. Our reputation is global.” 

With this year’s games involving strict — and tightly-enforced — lock-down rules, Murray didn’t get to do too much exploration or souvenir-shopping outside the confines of the workday. But he did manage to score a stuffed Olympic mascot toy for his personal champion: his almost one-year-old son. As a new dad, Murray hopes his work at the Olympics models the importance of open-mindedness.

“If there’s something that interests you, go for it. I’d never left the United States prior to traveling to Australia for these opportunities,” he says. “There are just so many opportunities out there, and so many ways of enriching your life.” 

Phil Murray ’03, second from left, associate teaching professor of chemistry and assistant swimming coach at UT, installs cameras in an Olympic pool in Tokyo. Photo courtesy of Phil Murray ’03

THE RENAISSANCE WOMAN: 

HANA VAN LOOCK ’21 How many people do you know who just so happen to fluently speak Japanese, German and English — and have first-hand experience as an elite athlete? Probably not many. But Hana van Loock is that rare polymath who’s as gifted in languages as she is hardworking — all of which led to her role as a translator for a major German TV network during the Summer Games. She was a star swimmer for UT who grew up in Japan before moving to Germany for high school; van Loock also lived in Russia for a year along the way.

In Tokyo, she was the conduit between those who spoke German and those who spoke Japanese. “I was handling everyday translations for the production team,” she says. “Tasks like calling a doctor, communicating with hotels or requesting taxis.” It was actually the aforementioned Murray, who helped pave the way for van Loock: He’d connected her to translating opportunities during swim events in 2018 and 2019, in Tokyo and South Korea, respectively. “It was at those prior events when I started talking to the TV people, because I was interested in working at the Olympics, and I consider Japan my home,” she says.

As hard as van Loock worked, she also had once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to have fun in Tokyo, too. “The highlight was that my bosses gave me tickets for the closing ceremony. Seeing all the athletes walk out then is very different than the opening ceremony, when everyone’s nervous. At the closing ceremony, everyone is free and the pressure’s off, and everybody’s so excited that their dream came true, and they just feel so relieved. You could really see that,” she says. “I had tears in my eyes because I knew how it felt to achieve something and then feel that sense of the pressure being off and just enjoying the moment.”

Hana van Loock ’21, a former stringer/interpreter for ZDF, the German public-service television broadcaster, in an Olympic press box. Photo courtesy of Hana van Loock ’21

Looking ahead, van Loock — who majored in international business and management — plans to pursue a master’s degree in Europe that will lead her to work in the renewable energy field. But wherever she goes in life, she’ll take the spirit of the Olympics with her. “From every opportunity that I take, I can grow. It’s better to take an opportunity than to leave it and later think ’What if?’” 

And that, she says, is a lesson that was reinforced throughout her time at UT. 

“UT prepared me to be a well-rounded person. When I first got to UT, I was very shy. But UT made me grow — through my team and my friendships and my coaches and professors and all of my experiences. UT really contributed to me being the person I am today, and getting an opportunity like this.”