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Olympic Swimmer Abbey Weitzeil on Her Emotional Reaction to Winning Silver: 'It All Hit Me at Once'

Olympic Swimmer Abbey Weitzeil on Her Emotional Reaction to Winning Silver: 'It All Hit Me at Once'

Abbey Weitzeil and Regan Smith helped the U.S. take home the silver in the women's 4x100m medley relay — and they couldn't be prouder.

Opening up to People (the TV Show!) about the emotions she felt at the time, Weitzeil, 24, says that there was "a lot going through my head."

"I feel like the way it's perceived, a lot of people are like, "She crying because they didn't win,' " Weitzeil recalls, noting that while she "was upset for a second that we didn't get the gold" she was also struck by the fact that after years of preparation, the race was finally over.

"It was like, I'm sad it's over but I'm so happy that it's over," she explained. "Everyone was so supportive. We did the best we could. We went out there, we put everything we could, we left it all in the pool."

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"I don't know if it'll ever sink in," Smith, 19, adds. "It's weird. We've been trying really hard to try and soak in every moment that we can but Abbey and I keep saying to each other, "I can't believe that happened.' "

"I can't believe that it's happened and it's over and it's in the past now and so I hope that when I go home and see my family and friends, I'll be able to celebrate with them and kind of have a moment where I realize what I've been through and how much there is to be proud of and how accomplished I feel but right now it's very surreal still," she adds.

Wietzel and Smith, who are both members of Team Speedo, also picked up a pair of bronze medals. Wietzel's came from the women's 4x100 freestyle relay while Smith got hers in the 100m backstroke.

Abbey Weitzei
Abbey Weitzei

Tom Pennington/Getty Images Abbey Weitzeil

As for what the future holds, Weitzeil has her eyes on the 2024 Olympics. "I am shooting for a third," she says. "Paris is only three years away, which is crazy."

"I want to go back," she adds.

Meanwhile Smith is looking forward to kickstarting her "college swimming career" at Stanford. "I'm really looking forward to that a lot. I'm really looking forward to being a part of that team," she says.

To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.