Coming Into Her Own
In 2017, Mallory Comerford tied freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky at NCAAs and collected five gold medals at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Named USA Swimming’s “Breakout Swimmer of the Year,” the 20-year-old University of Louisville junior and team captain is more than ready to see what 2018 will bring.
Long before she arrived at Louisville, Comerford swam club with the Southwest Y Michigan in a crowded six-lane pool under the tutelage of coach Jeff Russell. However, neither coach nor swimmer let the circumstances of the crowded pool affect their training and Russell instilled in Comerford a mantra that she carries with her to this day.
Comerford explained to Swimming World,
“He [Russell] taught me that using what you’re given can take you really far — no matter what you have. He really helped instill confidence. We all practiced together — sometimes we had 50 people on a big day (ages 8 through 18). There were some days we could only do 25s. We had six swimmers per lane on a regular basis.”
Despite her training circumstances, Comerford went on to be named the 2011 and 2012 Division 3 Michigan Swimmer of the Year and still holds the Michigan state D3 records in the 100, 200, and 500 yard free.
To read more about Comerford and her many accomplishments, check out the March issue, available now!
[ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]
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FEATURES
016 PRIMED FOR THE SEQUEL
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020 A REPEAT FOUR-PEAT?
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024 CAN’T GET ENOUGH
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030 COMING INTO HER OWN
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In 2017, Mallory Comerford tied freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky at NCAAs and collected five gold medals at the World Championships. Named USA Swimming’s “Breakout Swimmer of the Year,” the 20-year-old University of Louisville junior and team captain is more than ready to see what 2018 will bring.
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037 COLLEGE SWIMMING: BEING YOUR BEST
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048 Q&A WITH COACH BILL PILCZUK
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050 HOW THEY TRAIN JOEL AX
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053 UP & COMERS: EMMA KERN
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008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
013 BEYOND THE YARDS
036 THE OFFICIAL WORD
040 2018 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY
052 HASTY HIGH POINTERS
054 GUTTER TALK
056 PARTING SHOT