Solitude Is Nothing New For NAG Record Holder Daniel Roy

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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By Andy Ross

On Thursday night at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, 18-year-old Daniel Roy became the youngest American to break 2:10 in the 200 breaststroke. Roy blasted a 2:09.73 to win the final ahead of some pretty good competition like Olympic medalist Chase Kalisz and veteran national team member Nic Fink.

Roy now stands alone at the top of the 17-18 national age group rankings with his 2:09. This is a familiar spot for Roy, because he trains by himself every day in Spokane, Washington, something he has been doing for quite some time now.

“It was short course season after (2016) Trials when I started to train by myself. King (Aquatic Club) is in Seattle, I live in Spokane which is about five hours away. Doug, my coach, sends me stuff every day and I write it down on a piece of paper and I do it.”

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Roy is currently swimming unattached, but will soon have some training partners when he moves to Palo Alto to start training with Stanford in June.

“I wanted to be a part of the team. I’m not really swimming with anyone right now so Stanford’s situation is a lot better than my current one.

I’m a very competitive person. I need someone to train with every day.”

The fact that Roy has trained by himself every day for the last couple years makes his accomplishments all the more impressive. He was the World Juniors gold medalist last summer in the 200 breast, as well as one of the nation’s top recruits in the class of 2018. Roy will be a big addition for the Stanford team that placed seventh at the 2018 NCAA’s this past season, and has not had a guy score at NCAA’s in the 200 breast since Robert Lovelace in 2012.

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Roy will not be the only stud breaststroker moving to the Bay Area later this year. Crosstown rival Cal picked up another great breaststroker in the class of 2018 in Pennsylvania native Reece Whitley.

Roy and Whitley have a history of being rivals in the pool as well as friends outside of it. They currently sit first and second in the all-time rankings for the 17-18 age group in the 200 LCM breast. Next year they’ll be closer together, despite being on rival teams. Although he doesn’t like calling his relationship with Reece a “rivalry.”

“We’re more like competitors,” Roy said.

“Rivals don’t want the best for each other, competitors always push each other. We need the best in each other to make American breaststroke great.”

American breaststroke is in a really good place already. In the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, Nic Fink was fifth and Kevin Cordes was sixth in the 200 breast. Andrew Wilson‘s 200 time from the World University Games in Taipei would have placed ahead of Fink in the World Championships. And there is still the presence of 2016 Olympic silver medalist and American Record holder Josh Prenot in the event.

Throw in Roy and Whitley and it’s going to be really tough to make the Pan Pac team later this summer in the 200.

But Roy doesn’t get intimidated by the world class guys he gets to race.

“I don’t really put these guys on a pedestal. It’s always a great opportunity to race everybody.”

Daniel Roy put his name on notice when he went a 2:09, something that he wasn’t expecting to do until at least the end of the summer.

He said he embraces the underdog role and he was just trying to prove his worth in Indianapolis swimming against the older guys. But now he is on the same level with them, and although he may still be considered an underdog based on his age and his short stature, Roy will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.

And now that he is moving to Stanford in a couple weeks and will actually have people to train with every day, who knows what he is capable of.

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