Bryn Greenwald's pre-race routine is very simple. She jumps as high as possible. The higher she jumps, she tells herself, the faster she can swim. Even though she's not jumping very high, in her mind, this is how she thinks the race will go.
She also sings a verse from “Give Me Faith,” one of her favorite worship songs.
“I may be weak
But your soul is strong inside me
my body may fail
God, you would never do that.”
Then she prays.
Greenwalt ’26 said she had always been strong in her faith, but after a swimming buddy invited her to church in seventh grade, the experience “completely” changed her life.
“I owe everything in my life to God. Without him it wouldn't have been possible. That's undeniable. That's the source of my strength. That's why I'm where I am today,” Greenwald said. he said.
And at just 19 years old and in his second year of swimming career at Augustana, Greenwald has accomplished a lot. She was a national runner-up three times (she won the 50m freestyle twice and the 100m freestyle once), both the 50m and the 100m freestyle, and even the 200m freestyle. She earned eight All-America honors in the meter medley relay and freestyle relay. She also won the NSIC Swimmer of the Year title twice.
“We're not done yet. Of course, the goal is to become national champions. We've now secured three second places,” Greenwald explained. “I've finished second to championship record holders for the past three years (including high school). I hope that one day I can be the girl who can win and set records. Still, I'm making progress in my swimming, my technique, and my approach to it. I don't think there will ever be a point where I can say, “I've accomplished all my goals, and I'm done.'' ”
Even after qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Greenwalt had three chances to make history at the Coyote LCM Invitational on Nov. 15, 2023, at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls.
“In college it's a short course. The pool is 25 yards, whereas in the Olympics it's 50 meters, so it's almost a completely different race. I had never swum in an Olympic-sized pool until this year. My coach said, “You're not going to be considered for the Olympics,'' and I said, “You're crazy.'' you are insane I think you're being ridiculous. I had no expectations because “that's not going to happen.” It was just one of those things that seemed out of reach. ”
It was Greenwald's third free 50-meter swim that night, and while she was alone in the pool, she reached the wall in 25.69 seconds. she did it.
“I was like, 'Well, I'm just going to see how this goes, 'swim like your life depends on it.'” And I did, and I was a hundredth of a second away. I was able to shorten it to. It was one of the craziest moments of my life,” Greenwald said. “The way the pool was set up…I couldn't see my time from where I was, so I could tell if my time was right by watching the crowd go wild. I see you celebrating.
“This is something I never expected, and my parents didn’t expect either, and I think it’s great. Thank you.”
Again, she said, God appeared in her life.
“If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now. That's the most common Jesus attitude I've ever seen. This is what I'm doing. Take this with me. I want you to talk about things,” said the accounting and business administration double major.
But the Olympic Trialist from Foley, Minn., said she had an unconventional start in swimming. She joined a club team in elementary school, simply out of her fear of missing out.
“I had a small group of friends and one day we were all having lunch and we were talking about swimming because they were in a club that met after school. The next day we talked about swimming. I don't like to be left out of things, and I couldn't understand what they were saying, so what do you think? I'm on the swim team too! And I did.”
Greenwald said her own swimming was “terrible” from fourth to seventh grade. When her neighbor joined the college swim team when she was in eighth grade, she came along. She was driving Greenwald home from school. She flew unnoticed until her coach located her. Shortly after that, she said, her parents would try to bribe her not to swim all year round.
She also said her college search was unconventional.
Greenwald started thinking about college the summer before her senior year, and at first only heard about Augustana because it showed up in an online college search. She learned more about Augustana through a swim coach who was familiar with the university and its operations.
“I wanted to be close to home. I wanted to be able to do track and field and swim. We also had a boys team here, so I thought it all combined was great,” Greenwald said. Ta.
When Ms. Greenwald arrived at Augustana, she discovered an embedded group of friends: a family.
“The truth is, swimming sucks the life out of me. It's so hard. The only thing that has kept me going, other than God and my faith, is my team and how they show up every day. That's what excites me. They're just my lifeblood and every single person on the team is so precious and I love them so much,” Greenwald said.
“Andrew (Makepeace)'s coaching is great. He's very focused on team building and I think a lot of people really enjoy that.”
Now that the 2023-24 swimming season has been slightly delayed, Greenwald has turned her attention to track and field, which is also her specialty. She recently earned the title of 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Indoor High Jump Champion.
“The high jump is a break from swimming. If you talk to members of the track and field team, they'll tell you that track and field is not a relaxing sport because they have to run and I don't. I'm a dual-sport athlete and I get all the benefits of being called and just being able to jump over the poles is really fun,” Greenwald said.
This is the same approach Greenwald takes when the Olympic Trials approach…to have fun. She's just excited to be a part of a sport that people care about. To experience thousands of people in the stands.
“I'm going to train here and there over the summer. I'm not going to go to the Olympics. That's not going to happen to me, and that's totally fine, but it's going to be really cool for me to go to the Olympics.” But there's no need to stress. If I don't make it to the end, it'll be tough. I'll just go and do what I've worked hard for and have fun. It puts you in a bigger environment than anything you've ever experienced before. It's going to be really fun.”
The 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials are scheduled to be held June 15-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, marking the first time they will be held on a soccer field.
