Bryn Greenwaldt’s pre-race routine is pretty simple. She jumps as high as she can. She tells herself the higher she jumps, the faster she’ll swim. If she isn’t jumping very high, in her mind, that’s how the race is going to go.
She also sings the verse to one of her favorite worship songs, “Give Me Faith”:
“I may be weak
But Your spirit’s strong in me
My flesh may fail
My God you never will”
Then, she prays.
Greenwaldt ‘26 said she has always been strong in her faith, but after a fellow swimmer invited her to church in seventh grade, the experience “completely” changed her life.
“I owe all of my life up to this point to Him. It wouldn’t have been possible without Him. It’s undeniable — that’s where my strength comes from; that’s why I am where I am today,” said Greenwaldt.
And, at just 19 years old and two years into her swimming career at Augustana, Greenwaldt has done a lot. She is a 3-time national runner-up — twice in the 50 freestyle and once in the 100 freestyle — and has earned eight All-America Honors in both the 50 and 100 freestyle, as well as in the 200 medley and freestyle relays. She has also earned the title of NSIC Swimmer of the Year twice.
“I’m not even close to done. Obviously, it’s a goal to be a national champion. I have three second places under my belt now,” Greenwaldt explained. “I’ve taken second to the championship record holders for the last three years of my life (including in high school). I’m hoping that one day, I can be the girl to win and set the record. Even still, I’m improving in my swimming and in my techniques and even my attitude toward it. I don’t think there’s ever really a point where you can kind of just say, ‘I’ve reached all my goals, I’m finished.’”
Not even after qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
On Nov. 15, 2023, at the Coyote LCM Invitational in Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls, Greenwaldt had three chances to make history.
“In college, it’s a short course. The pool is 25 yards and for the Olympics, it’s 50 meters, so it’s a totally different race, almost. I’ve never swam in an Olympic-size pool before this year, ever. My coach was like, ‘You’re gonna get an Olympic trials cut,’ and I said, ‘You’re crazy. You’re insane. I think you’re ridiculous.’ I had no expectations because ‘it’s not going to happen.’ It was just one of those things that seemed so far out of reach.”
In what was Greenwaldt’s third attempt at swimming the 50 free that night — alone in the pool — she reached the wall at a time of 25.69. She did it.
“I was like, ‘Well, we’re just gonna see how this goes, like, ‘Swim like your life depends on it.’ And, I did, and I got the cut down to a 100th of a second. It was one of the craziest moments of my entire life,” said Greenwaldt. “The way that the pool is set up … I couldn’t see my time from where I was so I could tell if I got it or not by the crowd going crazy. I’m seeing my coach celebrate and my parents celebrate, my friends are celebrating.
“It’s something I never ever expected, and I think it’s cool because it’s something that my parents didn’t expect either. They’ve been at every single one of my meets and they’ve gotten to watch this journey, too.”
Here, too, she said it was God showing up in her life.
“I would not be where I am without Him. That is the most prevalent way I’ve ever seen Him be like, “Hi, here I am; this is what I’m doing. I want you to go take this and talk about me,” said the accounting and business administration double major.
But, the now Olympic Trials qualifier from Foley, Minnesota, said her start in swimming was unconventional. She joined a club team in elementary school simply due to her fear of missing out.
“I had this small friend group and we were all sitting at lunch one day and they were talking about swimming because they were in the club that met after school. The next day they talked about swimming and the next day they talked about swimming. I don’t like being left out of things and I didn’t understand what they were saying, so guess what? I’m joining swimming, too! And, I did.”
Greenwaldt called herself “awful” at swimming in fourth through seventh grade. When her neighbor made the varsity swim team in eighth grade, she came along too, as she was Greenwaldt’s ride home from school. She flew under the radar until the coach found a place for her, too. Soon after, she said her parents would try to bribe her not to swim year-round.
She also called her college search unconventional.
Greenwaldt didn’t start thinking about college until the summer before her senior year and initially only knew of Augustana because it appeared in her online college searches. She learned more about Augustana through her swim coach, who was familiar with the university and its administration.
“I wanted to stay kind of close to home. I wanted to be able to do track and swimming. I thought it was cool that there’s also a men’s team here — just all the things combined,” Greenwaldt said.
When Greenwaldt got to Augustana, she discovered a built-in friend group — a family.
“If I’m being real, swimming drains the life out of me — it’s so difficult. The only thing that has kept me going besides God and my faith is having the team there and them showing up every day and getting me hyped up. They’re just my lifeline, and every single person on that team is so valuable and I love them so much,” said Greenwaldt.
“Andrew’s (Makepeace) coaching is incredible. He’s so focused on team building, and I think a lot of people have really enjoyed it.”
Now that the 2023-24 swim season is somewhat behind her, Greenwaldt has turned her attention to track & field — something she’s pretty good at, too — recently earning the title of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Indoor High Jump Champion for 2024.
“High jump is a break from swimming. If you talk to any person that’s on the track team, they’ll say that track is not a relaxed sport because they have to run and I don’t. I get all the benefits of being called a dual-sport athlete and just get to go and jump over a pole. It’s really fun,” said Greenwaldt.
This is the same approach Greenwaldt is taking when the Olympic Trials do come around … to have fun. She is just excited to be part of a sport people care about; to experience thousands of people in the stands.
“I’m going to do some training here and there throughout the summer. I’m not going to make the Olympics — that’s not going to happen for me, and that is totally OK, but I have an opportunity where I get to go and be a part of something that’s really cool. But, no stress has to be attached — if I don’t get last, that will be crazy! I just get to go and do something that I’ve worked really hard for and have fun and be in an environment that’s bigger than anything I’ve ever experienced before. It will just be really fun.”
The 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials are scheduled for June 15-23 in Indianapolis, Indiana, at Lucas Oil Stadium — the first time the event will be hosted on a football field.