Three Years After Heartbreaking Miss, Carson Foster Reaches Olympic Medal Podium
In 2021, the fastest time in the world was a meager consolation for Carson Foster — when his breakthrough took place at a zero-stakes Sectionals meet in Austin, Texas.
One month earlier, Foster had led for almost the entire length in the Olympic Trials final of the 400 IM, only for Chase Kalisz to zoom ahead on breaststroke and Jay Litherland to do the same on freestyle. The miss left Foster a half-second away from a spot at the Olympic Games. Two days later, he had a second chance in the 200 free, only to finish 0.18 behind a sixth-place finish which would have earned a relay spot at the Olympics.
So Foster returned home and resumed training, thinking hard about how to improve his breaststroke and how to prevent a second-half fade. When Foster chose to take another shot at the 400 IM, despite the hesitations of Texas head coach Eddie Reese and associate head coach Wyatt Collins, he washed away any bitter aftertaste from the Trials final. Focusing on staying relaxed through the front half of the race, Foster clocked a time more than two seconds quicker, 4:08.46. Twenty-four hours later, Kalisz and Litherland would earn a 1-2 finish in the Olympic final without beating Foster’s time.
As Foster embarked on his next Olympic cycle, the physical talents and training habits were never in question, but could he swim his best races in the big moments? That process would take a while.
“There are three parts to the equation for success,” Reese said. “Gotta have talent, which everyone here does. You gotta work hard. And then the part that parents don’t like, coaches don’t like, swimmers don’t like is the time part, the time element. It’s different for everyone. Some people take longer than others.”
Foster fell into that later group, but once he figured it out, qualifying for the World Championships team in both individual medley events in 2022, he would not look back. At three World Championships meets (long course) since Tokyo, he has earned eight medals, four in individual events and four in relays (one gold).
Carson Foster after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic team — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The 400 IM has been clearly his best event, with the Foster becoming the eighth-fastest performer ever at 4:06.56 and winning Worlds silver medals in 2022 and 2023. Trying to succeed internationally in the IM events has been challenging in the age of Leon Marchand, but Foster has done it as well as any of the Frenchman’s competitors.
When Foster returned to the Olympic Trials in 2024, the final played out similarly, with Foster taking an early lead before Kalisz caught him on breaststroke, but Foster actually pulled back ahead and extended the lead on the freestyle leg. His mark of 4:07.64 was the fastest in the world by more than one-and-a-half seconds entering Paris.
Foster won his first Olympic heat and qualified fourth overall for the final. The night swim in front of a raucous crowd at La Défense Arena was always going to be the Marchand show, but a medal was clearly within Foster’s capabilities.
Once again, Foster would not swim his best in the biggest moment, but it would not matter: he did enough to become an Olympic medalist for the first time.
Foster moved into second place with 100 meters to go, but Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita and Great Britain’s Max Litchfield were closing hard on the freestyle. For a few moments, it appeared as though Foster might be left off the podium entirely, but he came through in the closing meters to reach the finish in 4:08.66, four hundredths behind Matsushita but two tenths clear of Litchfield.
The time was actually two tenths slower than Foster swam in that consolation Sectionals swim in 2021. Who cares? Foster had earned his medal, a bronze.
“I don’t think it’s going to hit yet,” Foster said. “I’ve dreamed about it my whole life. You feel like it’s never going to come. Every kid in America who starts swimming wants to go to the Olympics and get a medal, and so few get to do it. To get to do that and be an Olympic medalist for the rest of my life.”
His podium debut comes as, for the first time in his swimming career, Foster is the only member of his family still competing. Throughout his club career, he attended national and junior-national meets with older siblings Jake and Hannah, and he and Jake were teammates at Texas the last four seasons. Last month, Jake retired from the sport after swimming in a pair of finals at Olympic Trials. While the rest of the Foster family traveled to Paris, Jake has already begun medical school, so he stayed home and organized a watch party for the 400 IM final.
Thinking back on his notable misses, in particular that selection race in 2021, Foster smiled. “Without those, it wouldn’t be as special,” he said. “Those are what make tonight so special, all the times that I’ve been so close but fallen short.”
Swimming much slower than one’s best is OK because it’s the Olympics? Fair enough if you think the Olympics are the only thing that really matters in a career and well done to him but then don’t start bleating that swimming only gets attention in the Olympics. You can’t have it both ways!
I see your point, and certainly I think swimming matters outside of the Games. But this is the meet swimmers care about the most, and even if Foster is not thrilled with his time, he’s plenty happy with the medal.