Four hours of training after school, five hours in the pool on Saturdays, three on Sundays as well as 6 a.m. summer practices – this grueling schedule is not for the weak. For Dublin teenagers, Alina Zhang, Sona Hedgren, Brianna Estes and Mailyn Price, this dedication has led to global accomplishments.
As swimmers for The Lakes Mermaids Artistic Swim Team, these Dublin students dominated last season, placing third at the USA National Artistic Swimming Championship and second at the USA National Junior Olympics.
The Lakes Mermaids went on to represent team USA in Lima, Peru in the Pan American Games, which gathers some of the best athletes from across the Americas. Zhang, Hedgren, Estes and Price won silver and bronze medals in two categories alongside their other teammates.
“I feel like we all just went through it together,” Price says. “Once we were able to achieve our bronze medal at Nationals, I feel like we used that as determination to do better at our other meets too.”
Worth it
Taryn Price
These athletes found an early love for the sport of artistic swimming, previously known as synchronized swimming, with Zhang beginning the sport at just 5 years old. Some have backgrounds in swimming and other demanding sports such as gymnastics and dance, which require the same strength and flexibility as artistic swimming.
Though very difficult and time-consuming, artistic swimming fosters creativity and irreplaceable friendships, Price says, making it all worthwhile.
“It’s definitely very intense, it’s a lot of cardiovascular activity,” Price says. “It’s tough but, because you have so many people with you doing it, you know you’re not the only one and you know you’re not alone.”
Beyond physicality, Price says an important aspect of artistic swimming is conveying emotion through artistic body movements, like dancing underwater. Swimmers can do this by connecting with a routine’s music.
“If it’s fast and energetic then your movements are fast and fun,” Price says. “But if it’s an emotional song, then you can express that emotion through swimming.”
While 6 a.m. practices might seem crazy to some people, the team says they cherish these memories. Their connections are fortified with every strenuous practice, every high and low that comes with competing in such a challenging sport.
“It’s hard because you have to sacrifice your time for the team, but in the end, it’s worth it because then all our hard work will be paid off,” Price says. “It’s just preparing you for better things in life.”
Taryn Price
The reward
Training intensity and time commitments only increased after The Lakes Mermaids placed at Nationals. Progressing through the Junior Olympics and finally the Pan American Games took serious teamwork and dedication.
“I think when we first placed on the podium it was a huge moment for our team because we’d been really wanting a medal,” Hedgren says, “And it was really special for us because it was our first time as a team achieving our goal.”
The team’s first medal at Nationals was very unexpected, Estes says.
“In Houston, I think I was on the phone with my mom, and she was like, ‘Oh, they’re saying you guys got third,’ and we were like, ‘No we didn’t,’” Estes says.
The team had the pleasure of announcing the news to their coaches, who didn’t know about the win. The coaches all cried, the girls say, and they had fun seeing their reactions.
After winning their silver medal in Portland, Price says it was rewarding to see their progress from third to second place, especially after all the early morning practices.
“It was just a really cool experience getting to travel with my best friends and seeing everything in a different light,” Estes says.
Back home, the athletes say they keep their medals in their bedrooms, hanging in plain sight for all to see.
More than a team
Zhang, Hedgren, Estes and Price say that events like team sleepovers allow them to escape swimming for a while and focus on being best friends, not just teammates.
“Practice is one way to almost show our bond and express our friendship, but then when we hangout, it’s like a different version of ourselves, so it’s just fun to explore both,” Price says.
The friendships are the best part, Price says, because training all day isn’t so bad when it’s with the people she loves most. She says it’s important for everyone to have friends like hers to rely on and trust and to motivate each other to be the best versions of themselves.
“I think we’re all really close because we go through some practices (that) are really hard and we all go through that together, and I think that really makes our bond a lot stronger,” Hedgren says.
Taryn Price
The girls’ close rapport helps them push through challenging times, they say. Bad practices are used as ammunition to become a better team and make their coaches, families and each other proud.
“Sometimes if you’re not really feeling up to it, you feel like you really can’t, you have to think to yourself that you’re not doing it just for yourself, you’re doing it for the whole team,” Zhang says.
Life lessons
All four athletes say they plan to continue artistic swimming in the future. Some even have goals to compete collegiately at Stanford University or The Ohio State University.
The group agrees that artistic swimming has taught them more than just strength training and breathing techniques.
“It’s really helped me become more confident (in) myself,” Zhang says. “I think I just want to stay with the team for as long as I can because our bond is so special, its shaped my life in so many ways.”
These special relationships are everlasting, Hedgren says, and she knows her teammates will be her lifelong friends.
Frances Denman is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback is welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
