Having the FINA Swimming World Cup back in the United States for the first time since 2006 has brought many of the best American swimmers to Indianapolis. With so many talented teenagers based in the Indianapolis suburbs, having the World Cups in their backyard gives them an opportunity to race against the global superstars of the sport.
The IU Natatorium, colloquially known simply as “The Nat” to those in the state of Indiana, has hosted many international and US national level events over the years and has built up a reputation as one of the fastest pools in the entire world.
Athletes like Michael Phelps and Aaron Peirsol set world records in this pool.
Generational legends like Matt Biondi and Summer Sanders made Olympic teams here in 1988 and 1992 and used to have their faces hanging from the rafters until the pool was renovated in 2016. The Nat has hosted many national and international events over the years, as the phrase “all great racers come to Indy” was hanging on the 10m platform for many years.
But The Nat hasn’t been reserved only for professionals. It has hosted the Indiana state high school championships since the facility opened in 1982, and has hosted countless club meets for the local Indiana swimmers.
For those that have grown up coming to The Nat for meets, like Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Lilly King, who grew up in Evansville, some three hours south of Indianapolis, and currently trains in Bloomington, only an hour south, returning to race in Indianapolis holds a special weight.
“I feel like I really have to win in this pool,” King said, who won the 200m breaststroke on Thursday night with a 2:17.56. “It’s great, my whole club team is here in the stands and I want to put on a show for them and I think I did that.”
“I feel like I really have to win in this pool. It’s great, my whole club team is here in the stands and I want to put on a show for them and I think I did that.”
With Indianapolis holding so many big and important meets over the years, it is a personal favourite for Olympic medalist Cody Miller, who trains with King in Bloomington and swam his first race in five months on Thursday, placing fifth in the 100m breaststroke.
“I’ve had a lot of good memories here,” Miller said after his 100m breaststroke final. “My first World Championships Trials was here. I won my first final here. I had one of my first junior nationals here…there’s been a lot of years of swimming here.”
With The Nat being such a prestigious venue, it has elevated the city of Indianapolis as one of the top swimming cities in the United States. For someone like Drew Kibler, who grew up with the local gold medal club Carmel Swim Club just 20 minutes north, he holds tremendous pride racing in an international meet in his home city.
Kibler was the very first Olympic swimmer the club ever produced in its rich history, which he did in 2021 while with coach Eddie Reese at the University of Texas. This past summer he was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x200m freestyle relay team at the FINA World Championships in Budapest. Since graduating from college, he has returned home to train with coach Chris Plumb in Carmel with his old club teammates in preparation for the 20th FINA World Championships in Fukuoka (JPN) and the Paris 2024 Olympics, both of which will hold qualifying meets here in Indianapolis.
“This is my first meet back in Indy after my age group years,” Kibler said after his 400m freestyle final on Thursday, where he was fourth. “I was supposed to swim here in college for (2020) NCAAs but it got canceled because of COVID. I am just super stoked to be back in Indianapolis.”
Kibler has been wearing his club team cap while racing this weekend in Indianapolis.
“I take a lot of pride in Carmel. Carmel has given me a lot. I am very thankful for it. They work hard. The kids are amazing, coach Plumb is amazing so I am very proud to wear that cap for sure.”
Kibler currently trains with a myriad of young talented swimmers, including Alex Shackell, who is just a few days away from her 16th birthday. In 2020, she moved to Carmel Swim Club from St. Louis, Missouri, specifically because of its history of producing fast swimmers. On Thursday, she won bronze in the 200m butterfly, beating World and Olympic medalist Hali Flickinger to the wall.
Shackell has had the luxury of staying at home, sleeping and eating in a familiar environment, while also being surrounded by her club teammates who have enjoyed the international racing in their virtual backyard.
“On my old team, it was just me going to these bigger meets,” Shackell said after her bronze medal swim. “But now since Carmel is so stacked with all these amazing swimmers, everyone has the same goal in mind and everyone wants to be the best in the sport. We all push each other in practice and we end up being able to come to these big meets together and it’s the same environment so it really helps.”
For 15-year-old Molly Sweeney, who also swims at Carmel, she has grown up coming to The Nat for swim meets since she was 7 years old. On Thursday, she was eighth in the 200m breaststroke final, racing against the likes of Olympic medalists King and Annie Lazor in her first international meet.
“I think it’s pretty special,” Sweeney said of being an Indiana native racing at the World Cup. “I love being a part of the Indiana swimming community. A lot of people had to travel a while to get here and I am so blessed to only be 20 minutes away and able to race a lot of fast people.”
Shackell and Sweeney have also had the benefit of being able to share the deck with other local swimmers that they have grown up racing over the years. Current and former US junior national team members Will Modglin and JoJo Ramey come from neighbouring suburbs Zionsville and Fishers, respectively. For those two specifically to see familiar local faces helps ease the nerves of lining up against Olympic gold medalists and world record holders.
“It’s nice to have them here because it makes it feel like it’s not as big of a meet as it actually is so it is very comforting,” Ramey said.
“Being here and 30 minutes away from my house is really fun,” Modglin said. “It’s always fun coming to the Nat…it’s really humbling being able to swim against all those big guys you see on TV.”
Racing in an international meet brings an extra level of nerves, and can often be intimidating to those doing it for the first time. But doing it in Indianapolis, a city just a short drive from home, eases that intimidation.
“It’s super cool, especially because all my family and friends are able to come and watch,” Ramey said. “Being able to represent our country so close to home has been really fun.”
“It feels a little different (than being at a club meet),” Modglin said. “It looks a lot different! But I think it’s really fun. It’s fast swimming either way so it feels like a lot more competition.”
The World Cup attracts some of the best swimmers from all around the entire world. 62 different nations are racing in Indianapolis this weekend with people coming from every continent. Those that are making the short drive from nearby Indiana towns understand the significance of being so close to home.
“It’s so cool having such a big event basically in your backyard,” Brendan Burns said, who trains in Bloomington along with King and Miller, and was fourth in the 200m backstroke Thursday. “It’s great to see the crowd here. I was out here having fun most importantly.
“We have people here from halfway across the globe and to say that I am staying just a couple minutes from here is definitely a privilege and I am not taking (it) lightly.”