Athlete Spotlight: Lauren Lee

After five years of swimming for the varsity swim team, Lauren Lee (‘24) is furthering her swimming career at Boston College. She has been swimming for nearly her entire life and is looking forward to leading Edgemont for one last season. Campus was lucky enough to sit down with her and ask her a few questions.

When and how did you start swimming?

"I started swimming when I was four years old. My mom wanted my brother and I to learn how to swim just as a life skill but also after the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011. When we moved to Edgemont, she put us into a club team to continue learning, and we soon got into it competitively".

What was your worst sports moment, and how did you learn from it?

"My worst sports moment would have to be when I broke my arm because I fell off my bike, and I couldn’t swim for a few months. We were thankfully able to have a waterproof cast made for me, which allowed me to kick during practices, but swimming had become such a big part of my life that it was so discouraging to see others swimming while I couldn’t. Swimming is a unique sport in that if you continuously miss practices and aren’t in the water, you’ll quickly get out of shape and feel disconnected from your strokes, so it definitely took some time to rebuild my endurance. The experience not only taught me the importance of taking care of your body but also how much swimming, my passion, impacts my life".

What is your favorite sports moment?

"I would say that my favorite sports moment was from when I was 12 years old and swam the 50 LCM butterfly and set a metro record. It was so unexpected, which is why it's a core memory to me, and remembering all my teammates screaming for me when I touched the wall is a happy recollection. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make another cut since then, so being able to say that I’ve made one is something I’m proud of".

What are your pre-meet rituals/routines?

"I wouldn’t really say that I have a pre-meet ritual or routine since I tend to get sick before my meets, but when I don’t, going to sleep early is definitely an important thing I try to do, even though it can be difficult with homework after getting home late from swim practices. I also always try to use my compression boots to get all the lactic acid out of my system and load up with carbs and protein. My mindset is also very important, and listening to upbeat music before I get to my meet and right before races also helps me get pumped up".

What is your favorite event in swimming?

"I'm a sprinter/mid-distancer. My favorite event to swim is the 100 LCM freestyle, which is also the first event that I received a Winter Juniors National Cut in, so after reaching that goal, I definitely enjoyed and favored it more".

Who is your favorite professional athlete and why?

"My favorite professional athlete is Carson Foster because he's someone that I can relate to. He was actually practicing with us a few weeks ago for a training camp, and he talked about how he didn’t really have a passion for swimming at first and only did it because his brother was. I’ve certainly been in that boat before, but I have definitely grown out of it. Carson also has a great range of events he can swim, and that’s extremely impressive and difficult".

What are you looking forward to most in your college swimming career?

"I'm looking forward to training with new athletes in a different facility and getting to work with the coaches to foster my specialities. The different locations of the training trips with the team is also exciting and something that I’m looking forward to".

What’s your favorite thing to eat before a meet?

"Like I said before, carbs and protein are super important so my usual is pretty much spicy rigatoni with grilled chicken".

Who’s a better swimmer, you or your brother?

"I wish I could say that I am, but my brother is definitely a better swimmer than me".

Give one inspirational quote that you came up with:

"I can’t take the credit for this quote as my coach came up with it but, 'Work works'".