The Next Stops on Beata Nelson’s Long Swimming Journey

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

In the three years since Beata Nelson decided to attend the University of Wisconsin, she has turned herself into one of the best backstrokers in college swimming, excelling under both Whitney Hite’s coaching staff as a sophomore and now under new head coach Yuri Suguiyama as a junior.

Nelson’s swimming journey took her from national high school record-holder to freshman disappointment before her breakthrough made her one of the most unexpected stories of the 2018 NCAA championship season. But before all that, why did one of the country’s most touted recruits buck conventional wisdom and decide to swim at Wisconsin?

During her recruitment, Nelson considered more than the usual factors—coaches and team, academics and campus. She focused on picking “where was best for me and not everyone expected of me,” and that “really made me think about who I was and where I stood in the swimming world.”

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Familiarity and proximity tipped the scales towards the Badgers. Nelson grew up in Wisconsin and often sat with the Badgers swimmers at big meets when she would travel with only her club coach and no teammates. And then came the situation at home: Nelson’s mother was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer.

“We didn’t really know the trajectory of the diagnosis or if she would have a certain period of time or how her treatments were going to be,” Nelson said. “My mom is my best friend in the whole world, so I couldn’t imagine being far from her.”

On top of all that, just as she was starting at Wisconsin, Nelson lost much of her muscle thanks to a diet that drastically reduced her calorie intake. “I couldn’t tough through even a 100,” she said. “It was kind of a tough period there for a while.”

With all that going on, Nelson struggled badly during her freshman year. She began to question her abilities and what sort of success she deserved in swimming. After failing to score individually at her first NCAA championships, she lost most of her confidence that her swimming would eventually bounce back.

But Nelson never lost her will to push herself, and that’s how she got through the toughest periods. Her mother’s condition improved. Her weight rebounded, and so did her power in the water. And by the time the country next saw Nelson performing on the national stage, she was one of the best underwater kickers in the country—and the second-fastest performer ever in the 100 back.

When Nelson swam a 49.78 leading off the Badgers’ 400 medley relay at the Big Ten championship, dropping her lifetime best by more than a second, that was her signature moment. And listening to her describe the scene induces goosebumps.

“There was a photo captured right when it happened, and it’s really cool to see all the expressions of my teammates in that moment and to feel the happiness and excitement of my team and all my family that was there had,” Nelson said.

“It made it super real because you can think and dream about something, but when you look up at that scoreboard and you really see a time, it takes a second, but then it sinks in and you realize that you’ve gotten to where you’ve always wanted to.”

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At her sophomore year NCAA championships, Nelson finished second in the 100 back, third in the 200 back and sixth in the 200 IM. Less than a week later, Wisconsin announced that Hite would not return as Badgers head coach the following year, and Suguiyama was hired as his replacement.

Right away, Nelson was reluctant to embrace the new coach and his new staff that was inheriting her. An athlete’s natural instinct is to stick with what’s working, and after all the effort she put in to return to form, change was frightening.

“I think a lot of people were hesitant, just because you never know the training style of a coach, the way that they’re going to interact with you on deck or any of that,” Nelson said. “It takes some time to kind of get used to that and build a relationship.”

In late spring, Nelson and her teammates who would be staying in Madison over the summer spent several weeks sizing up their new coach. And soon enough, “we realized how lucky we were to have him.”

Quickly, Nelson sensed the positivity that Suguiyama was trying to inject into the program. She saw a conscious effort from the coaching staff to care about their athletes and assign purpose to each piece of the daily grind. In return, there was an expectation that the swimmers would buy into their team goals and work with those objectives in mind.

For Nelson, the new staff helped infuse the confidence that made her an American record-holder. Even after the first time she swam under 50 seconds in the 100 back, the thought that she could be a one-time fluke lingered. She needed to believe that she deserved all her success.

“The coaches help you believe in yourself and know that you are where you are because of the work you’ve done,” she said. “They’re there to support you. The support system is undervalued to a lot of people. It’s super important to have those around you support you to the fullest and know that everyone around you is behind you when you’re competing.”

Nowadays, the entire college swimming world believes in Nelson. She now owns the American record in the 100 back, set earlier this season at 49.67, and she also enters championship season with the top time in the country in the 200 back and 200 IM.

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

One can look at Nelson’s body of work and conclude that she will be a collegiate star but struggle to translate that talent into long course. To follow up her sophomore NCAA campaign, Nelson didn’t qualify for any championship finals at long course U.S. Nationals in July 2018, settling for B-final swims in all three backstroke events. On top of that, underwater kicking is her biggest weapon, but long course curtails the impact Nelson can have with her walls.

But Nelson has goals in the 50-meter format, including competing after her NCAA eligibility expires at Olympic Trials in 2020 and perhaps even beyond. She believes her focus on backstroke pulling technique and tempo will eventually generate improvement in long course. That’s her next target.

“My coaches understand where I want to go in the sport of swimming and what level I want to get to, and the way to do that is through long course swimming,” Nelson said. “They know that that’s a focus of mind, and they obviously want me to succeed in the NCAA, but they also want me to be a part of USA Swimming as well.”

Even with the successes of the last year and another college championship season on the horizon, Nelson can’t imagine stopping there. This will be another challenge and twist in the long swimming journey from which she has accrued so much joy.

“I just have put in my whole life to this sport, and I love it unconditionally. I just want to keep doing it. No matter what others think, it’s up to me, and this journey is long, but it’s definitely something I’m going to pursue.”

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Charlene Tallen

5 years ago

Her underwater work is amazing ?

Scott Unicomb

5 years ago

Jessica Unicomb great interview with Beata

Simon Kelly

5 years ago

No se quien es

Michael Ray

5 years ago

You were born to be a Badger and now you are making you mark. The sky is the limit Beata. Congratulations and good luck the rest of the season!