Of the extremely athletic cast of Survivor: Island of the Idols, Elizabeth Beisel stands chief among them. The 26-year-old is an Olympic swimmer and two-time medalist, appearing in the past three summer games. She comes to the island at a bit of a crossroads, having retired from the sport and looking for the next career to dive into. Despite her lack of confidence in the future, she’s ready to charge into the next 39 days willing to do anything for the gold. After all, swimming with sharks wouldn’t be a far cry from her status quo.

Read on for my chat with Elizabeth, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other on-set tidbits. Survivor: Island of the Idols premieres on September 25 with a special 90-minute premiere on CBS.

Tell me about yourself.

I was born and raised in Rhode Island, so I’m an East Coast girl. I went to three Olympics and have two medals. I was captain of the 2016 Olympic team. Now I do a lot of motivational speaking in clinics throughout the country, teaching. Swimming is the only sport that can save your life. That’s been my mission since I stopped swimming. I’m on the Board of Directors with the USA Swimmers Foundation, and our mission is to save lives and build champions.

How did you get into swimming?

I grew up in the Ocean State and lived a block away from the beach. My parents were like, “We’re going to be at the beach all summer; she needs to learn how to swim.” That turned into a love for the water, and ten years later, I became an Olympian.

Are there any similarities in the mental preparation between the Olympics and Survivor?

That’s what excites me most about Survivor. I haven’t been challenged since the Olympics with such high pressure and stakes. Going into this game, I’m probably the most excited and nervous I’ve been since the Olympics. And that’s huge to say. This is a completely different beast in itself. When I’m swimming at the Olympics, I’m fully rested. I’m fully fueled. The pool is heated to my liking. Here I am trying to compete with that same physical ability with no food, no sleep, in “nature‘s pool.” It will be interesting to see if I’m the athlete I truly think I am. This is the equalizer.

What prompted you to jump into the Survivor pool?

I grew up watching it. The first-ever Survivor winner, Richard Hatch, was from Newport, Rhode Island, about five minutes from where I live. Whenever something in Rhode Island happens, it’s huge. Because Rhode Island is basically a small family. The entire state gets behind them, and that’s what Richard was for us. So I had the chance to do this, and I thought, “Yeah, I’m going to challenge myself!”

Are you going to tell anyone about your Olympic career?

No. Unless it’s brought up in conversation or someone says, “Hey, you’re a really good swimmer. Did you go to the Olympics?” I’m not going to lie, but I’m not going to offer that information to somebody. That’s how I go about my daily life. I don’t go to the grocery store and say, “Hey, I’m Elizabeth. You’re checking out my groceries. By the way, I’m an Olympian.” That’s not who I am. I don’t think I want to change that just because I’m here.

How are you going to adapt coming from such a team environment into a tribe setting?

Swimming is an individual sport. But you’re on a team, representing the United States of America. You want everyone to do their best, but at the same time, you don’t want them to do better than you. It’s very similar to Survivor. When I’m on a team, I’m typically in a leadership role. But that leadership role is not me being a dictator. It’s me being a servant to others, making sure they need what they need to be the best. I’ll be out there fishing every day if I can get a fish for everybody. That’s the type of leader I want to be. I also want to be able to lift people up. It’s going to be extremely hard out there. We’re probably all going to hate each other at one point. And I’m human; I’m going to have those days. But I would rather us all have more good days than bad.

How do you think others will perceive you in this game?

Definitely as an athlete and a physical player. But I also have a lot of mental toughness. I’m most looking forward to going toe-to-toe with the men. We’re in a very physical group. Half of us are probably athletes. One of my favorite things in swimming was keeping the men honest. They hate it when women beat them. (Laughs.) One of the words to describe Survivor is “outlast,” not “outsprint.” I’m not going to be stronger than them; physiologically that doesn’t work. But I’m confident I have more endurance than they do.

What line will you not cross morally in the game?

I wouldn’t want to be completely blindsided. If I had a secret alliance with somebody and we were each other’s ears, and I walk into Tribal and they knew I was about to get voted out and don’t tell me, that would really hurt. At the end of the day, we’re all humans. When you look someone in the eye and say, “Hey, I trust you. I’ve got your back” and then they don’t, it stings. Even if it is a game. I’m going to do my best not to do that to somebody, as well as avoid somebody doing that to me.

How much is honesty going to be a part of your game?

I’m going to try to be Switzerland as much as I can. (Laughs.) I hate confrontation and backstabbing. But unfortunately, that’s the premise of this game. I’ve obviously going to have to partake in that if I want to make it all the way. I’m going to try to stay as loyal as possible to the people in my alliance. Hopefully, I have a strong enough group to bring me to the end. And if I have to jump ship to win, it’s something I’ll have to do. It’s wired in my DNA. I’m a competitor, and I have to win. I go into everything I do with a winning mindset. I may have to give up my honest, loyal persona to get myself further in the game.

How are you going to utilize your speaking skills from your job in the game?

I’m not the most argumentative person. But I do feel like I’m well-spoken and I can state my case factually. That’s what it comes down to. I want to state all the facts and leave it at that. There will have to be some lying and aspects that I’m not a fan of. But it’s what I signed up for.

What do you desire in an ally?

I would love an unlikely pair, working silently with somebody who would be the opposite of me. But outwardly, I would like to be paired with another strong woman. I think two indomitable women leading this game like Wendell and Dom did would be amazing. We’re in the world of women being powerful right now, and this would be a true testament to that. It would be an awesome scenario.

What’s your game plan when you touch down on the beach?

I’m going to sit back and watch, sizing everybody up and getting to know each other. The people who run off immediately put a target on their backs. I will definitely be looking for the idols, but I’m going to wait a couple of days.

If you find an idol, are you going to disclose that to anyone?

Absolutely not. I’ve watched it a lot, and I feel like no matter how tight you think you are, you really can’t trust anybody. I’m going to keep that as a secret because that’s my life in the game. Nobody needs to know about it.

What’s your biggest goal going into the game outside of winning?

I don’t want to let myself down. I want to push myself to limits I’ve never been pushed to, no matter how far that takes me in the game. I want to leave with no regrets. That’s a hard thing to do because this game is so subjective. It’s not swimming, where you can say, “I have the best time, so I’m the best in the world. Case closed.” You don’t control your fate; other people do. That’s going to be a hard thing for me to grasp. I’m used to forming my outcome. If I prepare for a swim meet, I’m going to swim well. If I didn’t, I’m going to swim poorly. I can play the best game of my life in Survivor, and people can still say, “She’s a threat, she needs to go.”

Do you have any other passions or hobbies outside of swimming?

Violin was actually my first love. When I was three years old, I went to a birthday party. There was a violinist there, and I fell in love. My parents got me a violin that Christmas and I’ve been playing ever since. I put it to the side while I was training for the Olympics because your body can be at its peak for so long. I can play the violin when I’m 90 years old, but I won’t be swimming 10,000 meters. It was good to know I had something to fall back on when I was done swimming. That’s one thing a lot of athletes deal with. It’s almost PTSD of leaving your sport. You lose identity when you stop your sport, and you have to re-figure out what you’re about. The past year has been that for me. I’m figuring out what I don’t like to figure out what I do like.

So what has that transition process been like?

It’s hard. I think one of the things that’s become more prevalent in swimming is mental health. I was definitely sad after I finished swimming. You lose identity, almost like a death of who you are and who you’re known as. I’m Elizabeth Beisel the Olympic swimmer. I’ll always be an Olympian, but that chapter of my life has closed. I’ve done a pretty good job navigating those waters. Nobody can give you a set path to take, and even so, you’re on your path alone. Survivor is going to be a great chance for me to disconnect from the world, do some thinking, and figure out what I want to do with my life and where I want to be.

A couple of seasons ago, I remember Chrissy Hoffbeck saying something like, “I was so wrapped up in work. I spent no time with my family and didn’t put importance on things that are actually important. Now being out here, disconnected, I realize the importance of family, friends, and personal relationships.” That will definitely be eye-opening. You’re out here alone. It’s desolate, and you don’t know these people. All you have time to do is think. I’m going to come away with hopefully a clearer mindset as to what I want my life to look like when I get back.

Give me a Survivor winner and non-winner you want to play like.

I loved Wendell. He was a physical player but was so quiet in his leadership. I feel like I can relate to him that sense. He was able to do well in the challenges, but still navigate the waters of being a leader. As for a non-winner, I absolutely adore Cirie. She’s so genuine and loyal. She’s a great person to be around, and that’s what I want to be. I want to avoid all the drama as much as possible and be a joy around camp. Cirie always had that warm radiant smile that made people feel good. I want to give that same sense to people.

When your tribe visits Tribal Council, would you rather vote for strength or loyalty?

Strength, especially premerge. You want to avoid losing challenges as much as possible because that’s why you go to Tribal. In my mind, I always want to keep the tribe strong. I’m going to be pushing for the strong men and women to get to the merge, and then we’re all on our own.

Which is more important to your game: Strategy or social?

At the end of the day, the social aspect is what’s going to get you the vote to win. It’s whether people like you. You do need to have a resume, obviously. I’m not going to get through the game just with people liking me and not doing anything. There’s a balance. But I’m more of a social person than I am strategic.

When you’re at your lowest low, what’s one memory you’ll pull from to boost your spirits?

Probably how excited I was to have this opportunity. When I got the call saying I was on, it was a happiness I haven’t felt in a really long time, not since swimming. I’m going to recall that happiness and say, “Yes, it’s really hard out here right now.” But having the attitude of gratitude is such an important thing. Your mind is going to start playing tricks on you. You’re paranoid, tired, and hungry. It strips you down to who you really are. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that people try to get on for years. And here I am, lucky to be here. Be grateful.

If you could bring one celebrity or fictional character out as your loved one, who would you pick?

I love Jennifer Lawrence. I feel like I would be very cool with her. She’s unapologetically herself, and I love that about her. She’d be my top choice.

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