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Ed Zawatski knew he wanted to swim in the Olympics from the first time he dove into the pool.

The recent Wyoming Valley West graduate, and Larksville native, has put himself in a position to do just that.

At the Speedo Junior National Championships earlier this month, Zawatski was able to finish with his personal-best time of 23.29 in the 50-meter freestyle event. The time was good enough for 10th overall and a spot at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning on June 26, 2016.

For Zawatski, having a shot at the Olympic roster is an accomplishment in itself, but the ultimate goal is to represent the country in Rio de Janeiro.

“I would be living the American swimmer’s dream,” he said. “When I was younger, I yelled out to my father one day and said, ‘I want to make the Olympic team someday.’ You know how it is when you are little, it was funny, and everyone laughed and said, you could do it, as long as you put in hard work and dedication. Now, it’s slowly becoming a reality for me. I would be truly honored to wear the red, white and blue if everything falls into place.”

Swimming can be a monotonous sport. An athlete will work for years just to shave a mere tenths of a second off their time. But it’s those seconds that can separate glory from defeat.

“In the sport of swimming you watch a lot of people grow up,” said Zawatski, who has been swimming competitively since the age of 8. “What I mean by that is you start with little tiny meets. Then you progress into high school swimming, which presents a whole new challenge for you. Swimming is a very tedious and stepping-stone type sport. It all comes down to how high you want to climb the ladder. Fortunately for me, my training has paid off and I’m almost up at the top of the ladder where I should be.”

Although the 18-year old was never beaten by a District 2 swimmer in a race during his four years at Valley West, Zawatski said he realizes he’s a big fish in a small pond.

“I don’t weightlift and I don’t have strong training like the rest of the field does,” he said. “I’m a pretty tall kid, I’m a pretty lanky kid, but if you saw me against everybody else on the block at the Junior Nationals. I looked like a little boy.”

Zawatski, who is continuing his academic and athletic career at Purdue this fall, will arrive at the Olympic Trials with the benefit of a Big Ten college swimming program behind him.

“I’ve been training with my high school coach, different club coaches, swim teammates and my father since I was 12 years old,” he said. “Now, I’m going to go to college next year at Purdue. They have specific coaches for me, specific sprint coaches and weightlifting coaches, that will help get me to the level I have to be at for the Olympic Trials.

“The weightlifting is going to be all new to me as well as new drills, just new things to try in general. I’m going to get a different person’s perspective on making myself better and I’m all for that. Anytime that you can get new information, or new coaches to look at you to hopefully make you better, you have to go all in on it. You want to get faster, you want to get better and you want to perform. You don’t want to go to Olympic Trials and not do your best; you want to be on the top of your game. That’s why I’m really excited for college. They are going to change a lot of the things I’ve been doing and make me better than I already am.”

Aside from the honor of representing his country, Zawatski, who won four regional championships, two state medals and set two district records in his senior year, wants to make Northeastern Pennsylvania proud as well.

“Haters always want to put you down and that motivates me,” he said. “But at the same time, all the good people that do believe in you, you just can’t let them down. A lot of people don’t know the technicalities of swimming, so it’s hard when people lay out goals for you. When people say, ‘Oh, Ed’s going to make the Olympics,’ then you are kind of expected to do it. I think it can be more difficult to prove the people right, because they put you in a position where you need to step up your game. There are always going to be people who doubt you, but it makes me train harder knowing people believe in me. I just can’t let those people down.”

Wyoming Valley West graduate, Ed Zawatski, qualified for the Olympic Trails earlier this month. Now, the 18-year-old will begin his long journey towards competing for a spot on the U.S. National Swim team.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_swim3_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Valley West graduate, Ed Zawatski, qualified for the Olympic Trails earlier this month. Now, the 18-year-old will begin his long journey towards competing for a spot on the U.S. National Swim team.
Valley West grad begins quest to Omaha

By Russ Hryvnak

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Reach Russell Hryvnak at 570-991-6401 or on Twitter @TLRussHryvnak