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U.S. Olympic swimmer Kristy Kowal visited Hamilton's swim camp.
U.S. Olympic swimmer Kristy Kowal visited Hamilton's swim camp.
United States Olympic swimmer Kristy Kowal visited Hamilton on June 29 to speak to participants of the Hamilton College Competitive Swim Camp and the Hamilton kids' athletic camp about her experiences as a high school, collegiate and Olympic athlete.

Kowal began by discussing her early swimming experiences. When she was only 5 years old, Kowal and her older brother started swimming. "My mother could not swim at all, so she signed us up at the local pool," she recalled.

The early stages of her swimming career were not nearly as successful as her later years; as a young swimmer, Kowal remembers she could barely make it down the length of the pool. As a young child, she was placed in the slowest groups and competed in the least selective meets. "I did not win, but I loved to swim," she said. Kowal continued swimming because of her love of the sport and the motivation of receiving team swimming gear at the end of each swim season. "I thought it was so cool to get towels and bags, so I just kept doing it!" she told campers.

It was not until junior high school that Kowal became serious about the sport. She realized that the harder you worked in practice, the better you did in the meets. A year later, as a high school athlete, Kowal became a dedicated swimmer, practicing harder and longer than she ever had before. Her love of the sport, dedication to practices and her teammates, and her newly added height made her a fierce high school competitor (Kowal grew 6 inches one summer in high school, growing from 5'3" to 5'9'. She now measures a lean 5'11".)

The summer after her junior year in high school, she went to her first national meet. Kowal traveled to California and had the opportunity to meet many of her idols, including Summer Sanders and Janet Evans, at the national meet. She placed a strong second in the 100 breaststroke and qualified to go to her first international competition, the Pan-Pacific Championship.

After placing first in the Pan-Pacific Championship, Kowal prepared for the 1996 Olympic Trials. Despite a strong race at the Trials, Kowal finished a hearth-wrenching third; only first and second place qualify for the team. She described her disappointment to campers; "I thought I was going to quit swimming. I didn't want to swim. I didn't want to go to college."

Kowal ultimately decided not to give up swimming, and went to the University of Georgia after a three-month break from the sport. Kowal did not go to a nationally-renowned college program; "I wanted to help build the [swimming] program," she explained. Kowal had great success in the pool while at Georgia. In 2000, her senior year, she was named NCAA Woman of the Year in her senior season; this prestigious award annually honors the most outstanding all-around student-athlete in the NCAA (in all divisions). She also qualified for the national team that year.

Her career continued after college; she placed first in the 100m Breaststroke and second in the 200m Breaststroke at the World Championship swim meet held in Australia in 2000. Kowal was also on the US relay team that captured second. As a first-place finisher, she was given the title of World Champion; however, she was more excited about the prize: an Australian outback hat. "I didn't care, I just wanted a hat!" Kowal exclaimed.

To be a World Champion was exciting for her, but Kowal had loftier goals. After a disappointing finish at the 1996 Olympic trials, she was determined to make the Olympic team. In 2000, she tried to qualify for the 100m breaststroke; however, she again came in third place and did not qualify for the team. She missed making the team by .01 of a second.

Kowal had a second chance at the 2000 Trials, however, having qualified to swim in the 200m breaststroke. She placed first in this event at the Trials, and finally made the Olympic team.


At the 2000 Olympics, held in Sydney, Australia, she swam exactly the way her coach advised her. "I just relaxed and had fun." She captured a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke. "I was going crazy!" Kowal told campers. "It was like a huge weight had just been lifted off my shoulders."

Kowal came back in the 2004 trials, but missed the cut after placing third again. She was named team captain for the meet, and was able to finish her career in the United States. "It was a great way to end my career," she explained.

She plans to return to her hometown in Pennsylvania and work her at local elementary school as a third-grade teacher.

After showing footage of both the 2000 World Championship race and the 2000 Olympics, Kowal answered questions from campers about her experiences swimming and traveling.

Following the lecture, she also helped with two in-water sessions for the campers in Bristol Pool.

-- by Emily Lemanczyk '05

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