After being out of the water for over 10 years, Kim Lewis He was injured during a CrossFit workout but returned to the pool last summer.
Lewis was 12 years removed from a two-year stint swimming at Gardner-Webb Division I, where he broke meet records in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.58) and 200-meter breaststroke (2:16.38) and earned the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Rookie of the Year honors in 2010. Though he didn't have big goals at first, he quickly found his old form with the help of a coach in the masters program at North Carolina's New Wave Swim Team. Laura Goodwin.
About six months ago, Lewis, 32, set her sights on competing in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. The Raleigh resident improved her personal best from 1:10.63 set in March to 1:10.48 at the Charlotte Open in May. The next day in the time trial, Lewis ran a personal best of 1:09.86, breaking the qualifying mark of 1:10.29, becoming the oldest athlete in the nation to make her first Olympic Trials appearance.
Lewis' previous best time before her comeback was apparently 1 minute 13.07 seconds, set at the 2010 Junior National Championships. Amazingly, she broke her lifetime best while working full time as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter.
Lewis will be seeded 50th in the 100 breaststroke at next week's U.S. Olympic Trials, where she will compete against the Olympic champion Lily King and Lydia Jacoby sitting at the top of the pre-scratch psychological sheet, but the two-time Olympian won't be far from the oldest swimmer in the event. Gabriel Rose At 46 years old, he was seeded 27th (1:09.13), making him the oldest qualifier since at least 2004.
Lewis isn't the only swimmer who has seen CrossFit training translate to success in the pool. Former Division II star Caitlin Johnson (Clarion University, 2007-11) discovered CrossFit training and after six years away from swimming, began swimming again in 2022. Now 34, Johnson is ranked 41st in the 50 freestyle (25.44).
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