Dream it. Believe it.

Poarch Creek Swim Team Host

 WHAT TO EXPECT

Rowdy Gaines          

 Born in Winter Haven, Florida, Rowdy unsuccessfully tried other sports during his teen-age years but turned to swimming as a Winter Haven High School junior where he improved quickly and was offered a swimming scholarship to Auburn University. At Auburn he became a five-time NCAA champion under the training of former Auburn head swimming coach Richard Quick. During one four-year period, Gaines held eleven world records and, and had the United States not boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, he would have been a favorite to win multiple medals at the event. After graduating from Auburn in 1981, he stopped swimming for several months, thinking he had missed his opportunity to be an Olympic medalist, but was urged to resume swimming by his father. When Gaines qualified at the 1984 Olympic trials, his times were not particularly impressive and he was not expected to place at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. He won the 100 meter freestyle off a very good start and swam the anchor leg for both the winning U.S. teams in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay and 4×100-meter medley relay

Jimmy Feigen
 2-time Olympian and one of the fastest sprinters in the world.  Jimmy was born in Hawaii but spent his childhood in San Antonio, Texas.  A late bloomer, Jimmy enjoyed summer league in middle school but quickly rose to national fame at Winston Churchill High School where his senior year he set the national record for the 50 free with :19.6.  Jimmy continued his dominance at the University of Texas where he won several individual, relay and team titles.  At the 2012 NCAA championships Jimmy won the 100 free , 4x100yd free relay and the 50 free in :18.8.  Later that year at the 2012 London Olympics Jimmy won a silver medal as part of the 4x100m free relay.  Jimmy finally reached his goal of a gold medal by helping the USA win the 4x100m free relay in Rio, Brazil.  Not only is Jimmy fast but he has a great mix of humility, humor and competitive drive.  Jimmy loves to share his message of pursuing excellence while enjoying the journey to the next generation of swimming champions.

Breeja Larson
Into high school, Breeja Larson loved playing all sports. She never wanted to settle on one because that meant she couldn’t play all the others. It wasn’t until her junior year when she realized she would pay for college, that she knew it was time to focus on one sport in hopes of getting an athletic scholarship. Lucky for us, she chose swimming. So, at age 17 she began to train in earnest and was off to Texas A&M. She credits her ”freshness“ in swimming for her three straight NCAA titles in the 100m breaststroke. It didn‘t hurt her at the 2012 Olympic Trials either, which led to her gold medal. Breeja is currently still training and competing on the World Cup Circuit.