Masters Spotlight: Nationals Full of Surprises for Laura Koch

By Emily Sampl

BOULDER, Colorado, October 6. COMING into the United States Masters Swimming (USMS) Long Course National Championships in August, Laura Koch was simply hoping to win an event. With minimal long course training under her belt and limited training time due to multiple coaching jobs, she felt a win in the 400 IM would be a great accomplishment. It's probably safe to say her performance at the meet exceeded her expectations.

Not only did Koch win the 400 IM by a whopping 26 seconds, she also claimed victories in the 400 freestyle and 100 and 200 butterfly. Her times in both butterflies were lifetime bests.

"I was going to wear the new FSII at the meet, so I thought I had a chance to swim some good times. I hoped to win at least one event, the 400 IM. Winning the other three, it was like ‘Oh wow!'" she said.

Surprisingly, winning four national titles wasn't even the best part of the meet for Koch. Following her victory in the 200 fly, her training partner Ross Davis proposed.

"That was like so surreal," Koch said. "When I finished, he was in front of my lane, down on his knees. I didn't think much of it, so I looked at the scoreboard to get my time. When I looked back, he was like, ‘Will you marry me?' I still had my goggles on, so I took them off and was like, ‘Are you serious?'"

Koch accepted, and was given a hard time the rest of the meet.

"The announcer was pretty funny, he kept saying that I got a diamond ring for my 200 fly, so what would I get next, a diamond necklace?" she said.

Koch's experience was only made sweeter by the fact that her team, Woodlands Masters Swim Team, won the team title by a landslide. Koch estimated that close to 140 swimmers competed, and added that it was one of the most dominating teams she'd been a part of.

As for the proposal, Koch and Davis plan to tie the knot in March. If their accomplishments in the pool are any indication, it should be a pretty successful marriage.

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