Grace Nordquist - (Author)

An Open Letter to the Unsung Swim Parent Swimming World runs this tribute to parents on occasion to recognize the impact that parents have on the sport, and as an appreciation for their dedication to their children's pursuits. By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern Swimming is tough. It is...

Motivational Monday: 5 Ways to Stay Motivated - A Letter to Those Who are Stuck in the Mud Dear Struggling Swimmer, You’re tired and sore all the time, you’re not getting anywhere, and all you want to do is eat a tub of Ben and Jerry’s, get into bed, and nap for the next few weeks. If you have been ...

Strong Women are Beautiful Women: Growing Up in a Swimmer’s Body By Lillian Nelson (From the Archive) Whether you are 13 years old and just growing into your body, or 20 years old and reshaping your body with college swimming, this sport really forces you to be aware of your own presence. I cannot s...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern In the coming months, seniors across the country will begin to count down their final days being defined as college swimmers, and transitioning into the post-swimming chapters of their lives. For many, it will be a bittersweet moment finishing their l...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern Swimming is a unique sport. A lot more goes in to making it run smoothly than the coaches, the swimmers, and the pool. There are oodles and oodles of odd jobs to be done, and those who sacrifice their time to do them often fly under the radar without ...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern On the third and final day out at Brigham Young's aquatic center for the 2016 Utah High School State Championships, the second halves of both the 3A and 4A classifications have come to a close. Starting off the morning was part two of the 3A classific...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern Diving in to day two at Brigham Young's aquatic center for the 2016 Utah High School State Meets, the 4A and 3A classifications completed the first half of each of their events, while 5A completed the second half of theirs. Beginning in the 4A classif...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern At the conclusion of day one at BYU's aquatic center, the 2A Classification has completed all timed finals, and North Summit High School has come out on top for the men's side with 250 points, and Grand County High School takes the title among the wom...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern The Utah High School State Meets kick off this upcoming weekend at Brigham Young University. The 2A Classification dives in Thursday morning with Emery High School looking to defend their Men's and Women's 2A titles from last year. Individual swimmers...

How Respect Plays a Critical Role in the Sport By Lillian Nelson Swimming is a unique sport in that it evokes an incredible maturity and responsibility in its athletes. There is no such thing as "fake it 'til you make it" here. There is no "getting lucky." You get out what you put in. This cold hard...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern For as long as I can remember, Natalie Coughlin has been an idol of mine. I had the privilege of meeting her for the first time when I was a scrappy age group swimmer at Cal Swim Camp, and have been infatuated by her wholesome personality, relentless ...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern Well ladies and gents, this is it. My dearest college seniors, now is the time for the final push. The last term of school (for some). The last time you'll wake up and dive into a pool with your best friends every morning. The last time you'll have to...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern As a lifetime member of the swimming community, I’ve seen our sport through the good times and the bad. Over my many years in the sport, I have noticed a trend. An Olympic year trend. Every four years, when the Summer Olympic Games roll around, all so...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern It’s that time of the year again! Time for cozy blankets by the fireplace, cookie baking with grandma, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” to be played on a loop…and the most limit-pushing, butt-kicking, extra-frequent training of the yea...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern There has always been plenty of coverage and focus on breakout performance years and the glory associated with said years. And just as in fairytales, the coverage usually stops or slows after the happy ending is achieved, and the spotlight moves on to...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern With Halloween behind us, and the beginning of the holidays just a few weeks away, any swimmer knows that the hardest training of the year is upon us. We’re back in shape at this point, dual meets are in full swing, the weather is getting colder, and ...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." -Phil Jackson As much of an individual sport swimming can seem to be to the outside eye, it is perhaps one of the most team-reliant sports out there. Swimme...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern All across the country, college and club swim teams have begun their training seasons for the year after taking the tiny, yet well-deserved break that swimmers get once a year. At this point, you’ve more or less been out of the water for a few weeks. ...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World College Intern As you progress out of age group swimming and into the world of high school and college swimming, not only does the sport itself intensify, but it also soon becomes apparent that school isn’t easy anymore. Family life can be complicated. Your social l...

By Lillian Nelson, Swimming World Intern Now that we are less than a year out from the 2016 Olympics in Rio, athletes around the U.S. and the rest of the world are feeling the pressure to perform more than ever. As a swimmer, you can either let this be a good thing, or a bad thing. The days leading ...