At the beginning of the season, Rapids swimmers are required to fill out a “goal sheet” and meet with their coaches to go over their major goals for the season. Many athletes take this opportunity to set the bar high- dropping chunks of time, qualifying for national level meets, setting new team records, committing to swim in college, etc. But for Rapids Age Group swimmer Emma, her sights were set on something much simpler: she wanted to swim on a relay.

While swimmers can pick their individual events at meets, it is up to the coaches to decide who swims on each relay. This meant that for Emma, in order to achieve her goal, she had to earn the trust and confidence of a coach to assign her that relay spot. 

Although Emma competed in several meets from the fall through early spring, she had not yet been entered in a relay. As March approached, Emma decided to compete in the 2026 Clover Cup. Over the course of the meet, she recorded four top-16 finishes and went a personal best time in the 100 freestyle, dropping nearly two seconds, and in the 100 IM, dropping nearly three seconds. As the meet started to come to a close, an exciting decision was made: Emma was chosen to swim in the 200 freestyle relay. 

Swimming the final leg of the relay, known in the swimming community as the “anchor” and typically reserved for the fastest swimmer of the group, Emma absolutely crushed her swim. Her 50 freestyle split was a personal best time and nearly an entire second faster than her 50 freestyle from earlier in the meet. 

Emma’s coaches were quick to note how excited they were that Emma achieved a major goal during Clover Cup weekend, pointing out that Emma’s sweet personality and positive attitude were huge factors behind her success. After the meet concluded, Emma was back in the pool at practice, ready to continue to work hard and achieve future goals.

Keep up the awesome work, Emma!