"He stole so much from me, and he did so knowingly," said an emotional Ariana Kukors during her interview with Time. "And he was calculated in his method." The 'He' Kukors was referring to was former Team USA assistant swim coach Sean Hutchison.

SeattlePI reported on February 8 that U.S. Homeland Security Investigators along with other law enforcement officials searched the home of Hutchison. The raid followed allegations of the Ex-US swim coach taking inappropriate photographs of a disrobed teen swimmer he was sexually exploiting. The 17-year-old girl photographed was Ariana Kukors.

The warranted search of Hutchison's downtown Seattle apartment allowed authorities to recover electronic devices that may have evidence of the accusations. According to Sports Illustrated, "Hutchison has not been arrested or charged in the case as Homeland Security started an investigation into Hutchison late last month."

Once the news hit social media, the now 28-year-old Ariana Smith (Kukors) was flooded with support from fans, friends, and family.

Kukors has been all over the media world of late, sharing her story with the goal of helping others.

She recently did an interview with Time about her horrible experiences when she was a young athlete, just trying to do what her coach told her to do.

It was difficult for her to try and get people to believe her and want to take action against Hutchison. Kukors explained in the interview: “Everyone in our community praised him for the work that he was doing.”

This appears to be an unfortunate trend in our society as some people are left off the hook, even when they are doing something absurdly wrong.

And this is only because they are accomplishing some so-called incredible things.

In her first interview since her public accusation against Hutchinson, Kukors said while bursting out in tears on multiple occasions to The Seattle Times: “My insides are shattered.” She added, “As an innocent, young individual who saw this man as a mentor, as a father figure, it was very confusing … It’s been a complicated journey to really understand what happened, and how somebody that you trust, that’s gained your family’s entire trust can do something so horrific.”

Time's emotional interview with Ariana Kukors reveals everything she went through

On February 13, Time interviewed Kukors and posted a video of the emotional encounter on their website.

During the interview, as tears rolled down her face and began to subside, Kukors opened up about her determination to help prevent others from being taken advantage of.

She mentioned that her former coach for about a decade "stole so much" from her, and the abuse started when she was a minor. This uncomfortable and unfortunate experience does, however, present a positive opportunity for Kukors.

She revealed to the Associated Press that since she is able to identify what the signs are of an individual who is "grooming others for abuse or similar misconduct," she can help prevent cases similar to hers from happening. During the interview, she said: “If I save one person who’s currently being groomed.

If I have a dialogue with one parent about something that they think is alarming with their child and their coach. If I could do that, this is worth it — as painful as it is."

Ariana Kukors is much more than a gold medalist Olympic swimmer

Ariana Kukors was a gifted swimming competitor who was a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swim team. She competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and placed fifth in the finals of the 200-meter individual medley. At the time, she also set a new world record during the competition.

At the age of 15, she competed at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 200-meter individual medley. Although she did not advance, she had a tremendous career ahead of her.

Kukors has won a total of seven medals in major international competition, two gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals spanning the Pan Pacific and World Championships.

While she was a leader in the water as an athlete because of her physical abilities, it's her mental strength that is arguably the most admirable. She's even, in fact, taking on new challenges. Now Kukors is focused on giving back, sharing her experiences as an athlete, and molding young minds. She is a mindset coach for Compete or Create, which was founded by Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais. She is also the director of health inspiration for LifeWise Health Plan of Washington, and a writer for their online magazine Actively Northwest.

Moving forward, Kukors will also be focused on spreading awareness for the #TimesUp movement. Her bravery, along with the victims opening up about their experiences while using the #TimesUp or #MeToo tags, will continue to shed light on the sad and unbelievable nature of what could be happening behind closed doors.

She mentioned in the interview with Time: “it’s not appropriate for a coach to be alone in a hotel room behind closed doors with their athlete, no matter how good they are, no matter what path they’re on. It’s completely inappropriate. And I hope that because of that we’re just more aware.”

While justice awaits Sean Hutchison, a similar story has forced USA Gymnastic board members to resign from their positions amid a sexual abuse scandal.
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