Alex Sumner '18 swam one of the best races of her career- winning silver in the 200 Back Stroke at the World Junior Championship in Indianapolis. Competing against the best U18 swimmers in the world, Alex placed second with a personal best time of 2:09:04.
"I was super excited when I looked up at the scoreboard after my race and saw that I had gotten silver in my race," shared Alex. "I couldn't really tell where I was in the race, so it was a surprise when I finished and looked up. I was even more excited that the Americans went 1-2 which showed our dominance in the backstroke events."
Alex says she was surprisingly less nervous to compete against swimmers from all over the world. "I thought I would be more nervous to compete against kids from all over the world, but I think it actually was less pressure to compete against kids my age rather than Olympic champions that I compete against at U.S. national meets," said Alex. "I went into the meet without any expectations, just knowing that I would try my best for Team USA."
Earlier in the summer, Alex competed at the U.S. Championships. "My goal was to qualify for Junior World Championships, which I did in the 200 Back Stroke, along with swimming a best time. I also placed fifth, which is much higher than I had thought I would place going into the meet."
Alex is looking forward to her senior year at EA and co-captaining the swim team. "I think we're going to have a really fast team this year, and I love getting to cheer with my team at dual meets and at Easterns."
She was able to squeeze in some vacation time at the beach and taught swimming lessons at the Suburban Swim Club throughout the summer.
"EA has been really helpful in helping me to achieve these goals," said Alex. "I have the best coaches at EA who are always so supportive of me, even though I train mostly at Suburban. My teachers are also very understanding and always willing to work with me to make up work when I miss multiple days of school at a time for meets."
The World Junior Championships took place in Indianapolis August 23 - 28.