Richmond native wins gold and silver medals in swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Richmond native Charlie Swanson is excited about his swimming success at the 2024 Paris Games.
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – Richmond native Charlie Swanson is excited about his swimming success at the 2024 Paris Games. The 26-year-old won gold and silver medals with the U.S. relay team.
Swanson told 12 On Your Side’s Sarah Chakales that going to the Olympics was always a dream of his. Charlie Swanson told 12 On Your Side’s Sarah Chakales that going to the Olympics was always a dream. (WWBT)
“I think everyone my age was inspired by Phelps’ performance in Beijing,” he said.
Sitting in his parents’ backyard, Swanson reflects on that wild summer. At the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis in mid-June, he qualified in the 100-meter breaststroke with a personal best time of 59.16 seconds, before competing in the qualifying relay to represent the U.S. swimming team.
“Luckily, they trusted me enough to let me do the qualifying relay, and I think that was the most nerve-wracking part because I’d never done an international relay before, especially at the Olympics,” he said. Swanson helped the team win gold and silver medals in his first Olympics.
“It was so inspiring,” he said. “It was like a celebration for the other guys who were in the qualifying relays.” “I think a friend said to me, ‘Charlie Swanson, Olympic gold medalist.’ I’m a pretty shy person, so I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I was really proud and it’s fun to be officially named an Olympic medalist.”
Swanson began swimming summers in Richmond at age 5 and joined NOVA in eighth grade, where he honed his swimming abilities.
He swam for four years at the University of Michigan before turning professional. “That’s the essence of the whole quadrennial — every summer you’re trying to make the world team or go on a big international trip,” he said. “But definitely something that’s in the back of everyone’s mind is, how far away is the Olympics?”
At Michigan, he met a fellow swimmer who would soon become his wife.
Already on top of the world, Swanson said he proposed on Thursday. And as for the games in Los Angeles in 2028, he says anything is possible.
For now, Swanson says he wants to enjoy the post-Olympic high a little longer and, of course, celebrate his recent engagement before returning to Michigan.
