Kicking Off The New Year
The 2026 swim meet calendar opened up with the Austin Pro Swim Series from January 14th to the 17th. I was also a speaker on the Performance and Technical Mastery panel in the Pan American Aquatics Convention. At the end of the month, I drove to Colorado to do some skiing, visit the Denver office and run a clinic with Pikes Peak Athletics. Let's break it all down!
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What’s Happening?
Austin Pro Swim Series
Going into the competition, I had mixed expectations because my training in the fall was sparse and I started doubles the week before the meet. On the first day, I competed in the 50m freestyle (23.33 prelims only) and the 100m backstroke. I swam a solid 57.21 in prelims of the 100 back but added in finals to place 8th. The next day, I surprised myself by racing to a 52.73 in the 100m butterfly, good for fourth. That is the fastest I have ever been unrested, and I only got beat by Olympic medalists (Maxime Grousset, Caeleb Dressel, Clement Secchi). On the third day I swam a 1:51.66 in the 200m freestyle but opted to race the 50m backstroke in the evening. The 50s had semifinals, and I was able to qualify for the final on the next day with a 26.31. In finals I placed 8th. The 200m butterfly was also on the final day of the competition and I put together two good races, going 2:01.55 in prelims and 2:00.70 in finals for fifth. I strive to be under 2:00 in-season, but this time was comparable to what I usually go around this time of year. Overall, it was great to get back into racing, and I have loads to build off of.
Pan American Aquatics Convention
Later in the month, I was invited to speak at the Pan American Aquatics (PAQ) Convention. I am an athlete member on the PAQ Athlete Committee, and I was happy to share my insights on the current state of the sport and the more technical aspects of training. It was a pleasure speaking to athletes and coaches from all over North and South America.
Colorado
Closing out the month I headed to the mountains to shred the slopes. The time in the mountains was brief, but it was great seeing buddies from college. I hadn't skied for a couple years, but I hit 51,492 feet of vertical, 47.8 miles of distance and clocked a max speed of 56.0 mph. Not a bad day on the mountain! I also visited the Denver office and got Indian food with my coworkers there. Shoutout to Bo and Garret for swimming and racing with me while I was in town. At the end of the weekend, I ran a clinic with Pikes Peak Athletics in Colorado Springs. With their end-of-season competitions coming up, I opted to focus on mindset and confidence in my talk. In the water, we did starts, turns and finishes, emphasizing proper execution and racing. I had a great time, and I hope the athletes took away valuable insights from the clinic.
Looking Ahead
Up next, I will be going on a training trip to Mission Viejo while Mizzou is away at SECs. Then the Westmont Pro Swim Series runs March 4-7.
I am working on a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri. Seeing the business side of things and the Construction Management graduate certificate that is part of the program will serve me well as an Aquatic Engineer with Counsilman-Hunsaker.
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