Citius, Altius, Fortius. Ivan Puskovitch Swimming Into The Future

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The Olympic creed reads, “The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.”

By all measures, that is exactly what Ivan Puskovitch (@swimimp) of the USA did in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the Seine.

Throughout the race up and down the Seine, the 22-year-old from Pennsylvania found himself in the trailing packs. He was 22nd in the field of 29 on the first lap, but he rose to as high as 15th on the fourth of six laps. He ended up finishing 19th in 1:57:52.5, far behind gold medalist Kristóf Rasovszky of Hungary who finished in 1:50:52.7 and right behind 800m gold medalist David Wiffen of Ireland.

It was not the position that Puskovitch had trained for, but his Olympic Dream continues. “My result may not have been the medal I visualized, but I can undoubtedly say I did the best I could for my country and gave that 10k everything I had right up until the end. It’s for these reasons that I can walk away with zero regrets. That’s something I’m very proud of even if I don’t have a medal to pair with it.”

The Seine is a long way from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he trained for years under coaches Chris Lear and Dick Shoulberg, the same coaches who worked with Fran Crippen. Puskovitch acknowledges his predecessors in the open water, “Fran’s legacy is an important motivator in my own open water swimming career. Since high school I’ve been living and training in California, currently with TSM Aquatics in Santa Monica, the same club as two-time Olympic pool and marathon swimmer Jordan Wilimovsky swam for.”

He did his first open water race when he was 10 in 2011 and started competing at USA Swimming Open Water National Championships in 2016. He saw success immediately and soon started enjoying international competitions as he represented the USA at the 2016 and 2018 World Junior Open Water Championships.

He was soon planning on racing more, building a strategic four-year plan with coach Mohammad Khadembashi. In October, he will head back to Europe, looking forward to training and racing throughout the 2028 quadrennial – with the Olympic motto on the forefront of his mind: Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

If anyone can do swim faster, finish higher, and become stronger gradually through the next Olympic quadrennial, it is Puskovitch.

The 15:23 1500m pool swimmer has the drive and the will.

At the beginning of his open water career, he finished 29th in a 32-person field at his first USA Swimming Open Water National Championship in 2017. By 2024, he was the top American man, finishing 14th at the 2024 World Championships in Doha. His progress has been steady, but his opportunities to race internationally have been relatively few compared to his world’s best. He raced three international races in 2023 and only two international races in 2024 before diving in the Seine at the Olympics.

But during that time period, he faced physical challenges that rocked his world and shook his confidence. He explained, “One year ago today, I was knocked unconscious and suffered severe skull fractures from a bike accident while working a delivery job to fund my swimming career. It happened at the worst time: I’d just qualified for the USA National Team, represented Team USA for the first time since 2018, and was headed to the pool national championships in just 5 days.

My injuries required emergency reconstructive surgery and at least 2 months out of the water — all within 7 months of the open water Olympic qualifier. Saying I was scared and uncertain would be an understatement.

Thanks to an incredible support system and a huge amount of help from good people who cared about me, I recovered quickly and stayed motivated…proving that if you persevere, then you will succeed.

I’m so grateful for being healthy, continuing to swim at the highest level, and of course for the people who helped me recover. My return to competition went so smoothly that I sometimes forget I could’ve died if I wasn’t wearing a helmet. My memory of this accident only further inspires me to do my best for Team USA. Every day, lap, and opportunity to race is a gift.”

His comeback, his dedication, his eloquence and his gratitude speaks volumes.

Now the 2028 quadrennial is upon him. “I’m going to the UltraSwim 33.3 event this October in Montenegro [the Fjords to the Sea edition on October 4th – 7th]. It will be great to meet other open water swimmers.

Open water is so special because it brings you to the most beautiful places in the world. You can build a pool anywhere, but you can’t build the ocean.

I will continue swimming as long as I’m enjoying it.”