Madison Kennedy Swims to Sink Her 'Jaws' into Olympic Trials

Professional swimmer Madison Kennedy, 24, did not make it to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games after competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials that year.

But she will have another chance in the 50 and 100 free at trials June 25 to July 2 in Omaha, NE. If she is one of the top finishers, she could be looking at a spot on the American team headed to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

“Being an Olympian, I’ve dreamed about that since I could understand what it was…. I’ve pictured being on the podium, 1,000 times,” said Kennedy, who grew up in Avon and swam at and area club teams.

Olympic Trials

Kennedy placed ninth in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2008 trials and 13th in the 100 free. The top two in each event qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team, as well as the top six in the 100 and 200 free for relays.

“The fastest swimming in the world is done at Olympic Trials,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s one of the coolest meets ever and it will be really great to see how much I improve from my performance last time.”

A Day in the Life of a Professional Swimmer

The national swim team, known as Team Elite, does not practice regularly with one another. Kennedy mostly trains and competes professionally with SwimMac, a club based in North Carolina, most recently at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, where she won the 50 free and got her best time.

On a normal day, she wakes up, has her coffee, has breakfast, stretches, goes to practice, swims and lifts. Then she jumps back in the pool, breaks for lunch, has more coffee, catches up on her friends’ blogs and does a lot more swimming.

Eating healthily is also key.

“You pay attention to diet, how much water, you become consumed with having healthy functioning body,” she said.

Representing the U.S.A.

She has traveled with the national team to swim in international meets like the Pan-American games and the Pan-Pacific Games.

“Wearing the flag on your cap, representing the U.S., it never gets old,” she said.

During her career she has been to Guadalahara, Singapore, Italy and Tokyo to swim, but she has never been to London.

If she were to qualify for the Olympics, Kennedy said she’d do something she doesn’t often do – stay silent.  Even though she is someone who loves to talk to people, she said it is the quiet that is appealing to her about swimming. 

“My favorite thing is how quiet it is underwater. It’s your own personal zen moment every time you’re underwater,” Kennedy said.

From Minnow to Jaws

Kennedy started swimming at age 4.

“Basically I started because didn’t want to do gymnastics or ballet and I was being a brat,” Kennedy quipped, a common story she tells about her start. “[My mom] said I was swimming before I could walk.”

Her dad, James gave her a nickname when she turned 13 that sticks to this day.

“He doesn’t call me Madison, he calls me Jaws,” she said, referencing her swimming and the year she got braces.

She has a shark tattoo as a tribute to him.

Like many young swimmers in the area, Kennedy swam for the Wheeler Y Tiger Sharks and she competed with the Charter Oak Aquatic Club from age 12 to 17. The team was co-ed and she said there were only a handful of girls.

She was on the Avon High School boys swim team for all four years there because there is no girls team. In meets, girls and boys on the co-ed teams race against each other. A lot of girls tend to peak at a young age, but competing against boys sometimes helps girls keep improving and getting faster for a longer period of time before they plateau.

“When I went to Avon, there wasn’t much that changed,” Kennedy said. “It’s better that way. They learn to get competitive early on.”

She swam at Rutgers for two years in college, where she met her boyfriend, Eric Lane, of New Canaan. He now coaches high school kids swimming for SwimMac.

The University of California, Berkley became her home for the latter part of her collegiate swim career after transferring. Kennedy was a marine biology major at Rutgers, which she hopes to study again when she’s done with swimming professionally. She changed majors because Cal didn’t have a marine biology program, so she earned a degree in personality psychology.

In California, she started doing Pilates, which she now incorporates into her training.

Avon's Small-Town Charm

Even though she has traveled far from her town, her thoughts often come back to Avon, where she hopes to settle down with a family some day.

“My whole life is so clear when I think about Avon because I didn’t do much but swim,” she said.

Growing up on her family’s farm near the Canton town line, she often went horseback riding on trails, frequented in Avon or spent time in Collinsville. She used to work at LaSalle Marketplace & Deli.

“There’s an intimacy that you can’t really get in other places,” Kennedy said of Avon.

She typically is able to visit her dad and mom, Jordana in Avon a couple times a year. While her trips home are pretty low key, there are a few staples businesses she likes to go to upon her return – The Whole Donut in Canton, Max’s Oyster Bar in West Hartford Center and Westminster’s pool in Simsbury to practice.

Her parents and sisters, Jessie and Hannah are planning to come watch her at trials and they often watch her on television. 

Aspiring to Be an Olympian

Kennedy said her swimming idol is her friend and teammate, Olympian Natalie Coughlin, 29, also a Cal alumnus and the current world record holder in the 100 backstroke.

She said it would honor her to compete with Couglin at the Olympics.

Kennedy herself is a sprinter and specializes in the 50 free, a race that she said has no room for error.

“Do the perfect race. Oh gosh, what a challenge,” said Kennedy. “You just have to focus while you’re in the race. You can’t relax for even a second The fact that I could possibly be on next Olympic team is incredibly motivating, you swim every race as if you’re swimming on Olympic team.”

Kennedy is swimming in the Charlotte Ultra Swim in May with SwimMac and independently in Santa Clara in the beginning of June.

For more information on Madison Kennedy, follow her tweets @madisonjkennedy on Twitter or visit USA Swimming's website.