USA Olympic Swimming coach Jack Bauerle is renowned for getting his athletes to swim fast in practice. Olympic medalist and open water swimmer Kristy Kowal was one of those athletes.

Three weeks before her collegiate championships, Kowal was asked to do a breaststroke set of 4 x 200 @ 10:00. On the fourth 200, the personable educator broke the American record by six tenths of a second.

In workout.

But the psychologist in Bauerle didn’t jump up and down to celebrate the fastest breaststroke swim in America at that time. Instead he did the opposite. “I called out a fake time. The assistant coaches gave me a look – and I kind of shot them that warning look back. I told Kristy that she was real close, missing it by four tenths. I just wanted to make sure her edge stayed there for NCAAs. It was so hard to keep it inside because I knew in 3 weeks, greatness was coming.”

Kowal did not let her coach down, formally setting an official American record.

Her bright smile continues to sparkle at open water swims from the Caribbean Sea to throughout the USA.

Photo shows Kowal celebrating with Heather Petri after a Swim Across America event.

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