COLUMBUS — Swimming in the pools at the Columbus YMCA earlier this week, brothers Colin Knox Wright and Kameron Wright were getting in some final laps of training before heading to North Carolina.
The two, along with Izzy Clark, will be representing their swim club, Swim Columbus, along with a number of other youth swimmers as part of Mississippi’s team at USA Swimming’s Southern Zone meet.
Both the Wrights and Clark, who participated in the state championship meet earlier this month, had already qualified for the Cary, North Carolina, meet, giving them more time to prepare in full for this large-scale regional competition.
“It took a lot, probably practicing like five times a week,” Colin Wright said. “I was lifting weights too, so it was a lot…I’m feeling pretty good.”
The Wright brothers will represent Mississippi in backstroke events, with Colin swimming the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke in the 13/14U category, and Kameron doing the 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke in 11/12U.
Clark is the medley swimmer of the trio, participating in the 50-meter freestyle and 50-meter breaststroke events in 11/12U.
“When you go to swim meets, you can really see who’s trained and who just shows up every so often,” Swim Columbus head coach Stephani Gonzalez said. “These three really came and pushed the limits by coming to more practices and just trying hard. This was their goal all season and they worked for it. They pushed themselves.”
There’s a genuine excitement surrounding the program as, in Gonzalez’s recollection, this is the most swimmers that Swim Columbus has sent to Southern Zones.
It’s a testament to the work that these three swimmers put in, and alongside helping to make some history, they’re eager to get in the pool and make something happen.
“I’m excited, but kind of nervous,” Kameron Wright said. “I’m just going to try to not add to my times.”
Added competition has the potential to work up some nerves, but in talking with Gonzalez in advance of zones this week, she’s confident in her swimmers.Her expectations for the group are much the same as the swimmers themselves: Find a way to compete and continue to post better times event-to-event.
“Everyone is going to get the chance to swim in the morning, that’s a given,” Gonzalez said. “Only the top eight from that morning can come back and swim at finals that afternoon. The goal now is to get as many kids to finals as possible. That’s what we’re really working toward…All three of mine have great potential.”
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