{"id":271753,"date":"2017-08-10T09:41:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T16:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=271753"},"modified":"2017-08-10T09:44:52","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10T16:44:52","slug":"hannah-jake-and-carson-the-fast-foster-siblings-at-junior-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/hannah-jake-and-carson-the-fast-foster-siblings-at-junior-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Hannah, Jake and Carson: The Fast Foster Siblings at Junior Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder.<\/em><\/p>\n

Just over an hour after 15-year-old Carson Foster<\/strong> dominated the men\u2019s 200 back final at Speedo Junior Nationals\u2014his second victory in two days\u201416-year-old Jake Foster<\/strong> pulled away from his competition to win the men\u2019s 400 IM.<\/p>\n

Yes, Carson and Jake, both competing for the Mason Manta Rays, are brothers. And they aren\u2019t the only members of the Foster family on deck in East Meadow, N.Y., this week\u2014older sister Hannah Foster<\/strong>\u00a0is also swimming at Juniors, and she had the best seat in the house as her brothers claimed their victories Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get just as nervous watching them, and it\u2019s awesome being on deck,\u201d Hannah said. \u201cI get to be right there. I watch with my coach. I\u2019m there every day with Jake and Carson at practice, so I know how hard they work. It\u2019s so exciting for me.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hannah watched as Carson stamped himself as one of the top high-school-age 200 backstrokers in the country. He swam under 2:00 for the first time in the prelims, recording a time of 1:59.13. That ranked Carson as the ninth-fastest American this year and the sixth-fastest U.S. male ever in the 15-16 age group.<\/p>\n

\"carson-foster-\"

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

Those faster? Aaron<\/strong> Peirsol<\/strong>, Ryan<\/strong> Murphy<\/strong>, Michael<\/strong> Taylor<\/strong>, Austin Katz<\/strong> and Jacob<\/strong> Pebley<\/strong>. Three of those five, of course, are Olympians, and two have won gold in the 200 back. (And Carson still has one more year in the age group to move up in those rankings.)<\/p>\n

Carson, who won the 200 fly on night one in 1:58.47, finished seven tenths ahead of the field in the 200 back final in 1:59.40.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy. Just coming to the meet\u2014last year was my first time at Summer Junior Nationals, so just getting into finals was a big thing last year,\u201d Carson said. \u201cComing here this year and winning events is way more than I can ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Jake, his victory came at the end of the session in the 400 IM. He dropped under 4:20 for the first time as he opened up a big lead on the breaststroke and freestyle legs. His time of 4:19.40 ranks him at No. 11 in the country for 2017.<\/p>\n

\"jake-foster-\"

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cGoing under 4:20 was a big goal of mine coming into the meet, so I was really excited that I was able to do it,\u201d Jake said. \u201cI was grateful that I had Carson as a training partner leading up to this meet. In the IMs, we both push each other. I feel like a lot of the credit goes to Carson because he helps me get to where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jake and Carson will push each other head-to-head Saturday in the 200 IM, which they enter as the top two seeds: Carson at 2:03.53, Jake at 2:03.98.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m more of a front-half guy, and he\u2019s the back-half, so it kind of switches throughout the race, and that makes the race really fun,\u201d Carson said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of stressful swimming against him because you know he\u2019s going to come back after the backstroke and catch you on the breaststroke. It\u2019s not fun being on the other end of that, but it\u2019s a good race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty competitive, but it\u2019s also a lot of fun being able to race your brother and possibly go 1-2 with him,\u201d Jake added.<\/p>\n

The two admitted they can get a little bit too competitive at times during practices and meets, but they insisted that they leave that part of their life at the pool when they go home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always going to be a family, and swimming is going to end someday, but we\u2019re always going to have each other,\u201d Carson said.<\/p>\n

Hannah, Jake and Carson relish getting to compete together at big meets, but at Carson\u2019s next one, it will be just him. He\u2019s a member of the U.S. team competing later this month at the World Junior Championships in Indianapolis, where he could challenge for a medal in the 200 back.<\/p>\n

Hannah and Jake will be there\u2014eventually.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to miss the first half because me and Hannah will be getting our wisdom teeth out, but Carson\u2019s event is on the last day, so we\u2019ll definitely be there for\u00a0that,\u201d Jake said.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLast year Carson was struggling racing people his own age, and now he\u2019s excelling and racing people from other countries that are older than him. He\u2019s going to be one of the youngest people there, so it will be really cool to watch.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While the Fosters are at Junior Nationals or any other meet where they get to compete together, they will take full advantage of having each other around for motivation and perspective. Even if one has a bad race, there\u2019s a good chance there\u2019s a sibling to still be pumped for.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dad always tries to remind us, \u2018Life isn\u2019t always fair, so appreciate other people\u2019s success,\u2019\u201d Hannah said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s always another swim, so if you have a bad swim, just move on and be happy for Jake or Carson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Jake, Hannah and Carson Foster speak with\u00a0Swimming World\u00a0<\/em>at Junior Nationals:<\/strong><\/p>\n