Leila Vaziri is quickly becoming a well-known star in the fashion industry with her swim line, Vaziri Swim, becoming more and more popular. Vaziri has been interviewed by the Huffington Post, Venice Magazine, and most recently, Gold Coast Magazine.
But before she launched her swim line in 2013, Vaziri was a competitive swimmer, much like the rest of us. She swam for Indiana University and at the age of 21 made her first debut as an elite level athlete when she out-touched Olympic gold-medalist Natalie Coughlin in the 100 backstroke at the Eric Namesnik Memorial in Ann Arbor, MI.
Reflecting on that event during a spotlight interview with Swimming World in 2006, Vaziri noted,
That race was really special for me. For both Natalie and I, it was the beginning of the season. It wasn’t like we were posting great times. It was the first time in awhile I had a really good race that I was proud of. I was mentally strong and didn’t back down, because it can be easy to be intimidated when you are swimming against someone of her caliber.
Vaziri would continue to experience success in her swimming career where she would become known for her ability to charge through the back-half of a race to finish first in many races, including her win in the 100 back at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships in August of 2006. After flipping fourth at the turn, Vaziri turned up the heat to finish first with a 1:01.69 and earn herself a spot on the Pan Pacs roster.
The backstroke star would continue on to become a member of the U.S. National Team from 2006-2008, participating in the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia where she posted American and World Records in the 50-meter back (28.16).
These days Vaziri splits her time between New York and South Florida where she balances coaching and expanding her swim line. Earlier in 2016 Vaziri explained to Swimming World her motivation behind creating her own swimwear collection, stating
I felt there was a need for fashionable, well-designed, high-performance swimwear. Growing up in Florida and being a competitive swimmer for over 15 years, I’ve spent most of my days in bathing suits. I wanted my swimsuits to perform great athletically and didn’t see why they couldn’t also be fashionable to wear off the pool deck as well.
More information on Vaziri’s swimming accomplishments can be found here, while information on the Vaziri Swim line can be found at http://vaziriswim.com/.
See! Im smart!
Laurie Ann O’Shea