Swimmers Unite
I am 21 years old, originally from Oakland, Ca, now living in Columbia, SC. My interest in swimming started
when my family and I went back to California one summer for a visit when I was six years old. I was going to meet my best
friend at her summer league swim meet. I had no idea what that was, all I knew was that there was a pool and I was
excited about that. When I got there, I saw little tiny bodies in suits and caps everywhere and was immediately drawn
to the excitment of the races. I watched my friend swim in her first race- the 25 meter freestyle. Before the move, my
friend and I had always participated in the same sports, and this time was no different. As soon as she got out of the water
and ran to give me a hug, I went to my parents and told them that I wanted to be a swimmer too. And you guessed it, the
rest is history.
I really started swimming when I was just a few months old, but my competitive career began when I was six years old. I started swimming with a recreational summer league in an old run-down pool at a fitness club. My very first day learning the strokes, I demanded my coach teach me the butterfly. Well, he did, and I just flew away. My first swim meet I swam four races and won them all, not to mention I got the attention of a man who would later be my coach.
After a month, I was recruited to swim year-round at Harbison. Not long after, the coach who had seen me in my first month, asked me to join Gamecock Aquatics, where I spent the next eight years of my swimming career. Over those years, I swam with the collegiate level team and travelled all over the United States competing in short and long-course meets. I loved it.
Then came the high school years. I swam varsity my 8th grade year, but was forced to take a break due to injury. Go figure. I wasn't able to start competing again until my senior year in high school, and I later went on to swim a year in college. Now, as a college graduate, I am once again in the competion circuit and couldn't be happier. I get to swim every day, have fun, and stay in shape. What more could a swimmer ask for!