Out Of The Blue

On the eve of her third Summer Games, six-time U.S. Olympic swimming medalist Allison Schmitt hopes her frank talk about depression and loss offers a lifeline to other athletes.

Allison Schmitt surfaced from sleep in the middle of the night thinking it might snow on her three-hour drive to central Pennsylvania.

She curled her 6-foot-1 body into a ball and wept. Her thoughts cascaded, frantic: I can`t do this anymore. I just don`t even want to be here anymore.

If it snowed, she could drift over the lane line and people would think she`d had an accident on her way to see a college hockey game. No one would guess what had gripped her in the moment. She couldn`t grasp it herself. She was an Olympic swimming champion, barely treading water.