Charlie Swanson is a competitive swimmer who represents the United States internationally. The Virginia native swam for NOVA of Virginia under Geoff Brown before heading to the University of Michigan where he quickly made an impact. He qualified for Worlds in 2022 after moving to train at UT. After returning to Michigan, Swanson qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after setting 100 breast PBs in prelims, semis, and finals.
University of Michigan
2016-2017
Swanson went to Michigan as part of an impressive freshman group that scored over 400 points for the Wolverines at the Big Ten Championships. Swanson added 71 points by himself, thanks to a gold medal in the 400 yard medley. As the only freshman swimmer in the finals, he dominated the race to finish more than three seconds ahead of second place. He also made the final of the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing eighth and added more points with a 10th place finish in the 200 yard medley.
2017-2018
Swanson continued to be a huge contributor for the wolverines. At the B1G Champs, he finished 9th in the 200 IM (1:43.05), repeated as champion in the 400 IM (3:39.16), and moved up to 5th in the 200 breast (1:53.70).
At the NCAA Championships, Swanson finished 6th in the 400 IM (3:39.93), 18th in the 200 breast (1:54.59), and 19th in the 200 IM (1:43.15).
2018-2019
In his junior year at Big 10’s, Swanson finally made the A-final in the 200 IM, finishing 5th overall with a 1:43.33. He also 3-peated as 400 IM champion in 3:39.87, and finished 3rd in the 200 breast (1:52.94).
At the NCAA Championships, Swanson finished 45th in the 200 IM (1:45.66), 20th in the 400 IM (3:43.61), and 9th in the 200 breast (1:52.09).
2019-2020
As a senior at the Big 10 Championships, Swanson 4-peated as 400 IM champion, going 3:40.26. He also finished 5th in the 200 IM (1:43.21) and 7th in the 200 breast (1:53.62).
National/International Swimming
Swanson was a member of the USA Junior National Team for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 seasons. In 2015 he earned his first international call up to the World Junior Swimming Championships in Singapore. In the 400 IM he finished just off the podium in 4th in 4:20:37.
A year later at the 2016 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, he won his first international medals. He earned silver in the 400 meter medley behind his compatriot, Sean Grieshop, and a bronze in the 200 meter medley.
2016 U.S. Olympic Trials (Omaha, Nebraska)
Swanson qualified for four events at the Olympic Trials. He made it to the finals of the 400 meter medley, finishing seventh in 4:21.62. He also finished 38th in the 200 meter medley and 73rd in the 200 meter breaststroke.
2019 Pan American Games (Lima, Peru)
Swanson earned his first senior international medal at the Pan Am games, taking gold in the 400 IM in a huge personal best of 4:11.46. Swanson won the event by nearly 8 seconds.
2020(1) Olympic Team Trials (Omaha, Nebraska)
After not competing for 11 months, from 2020 B1G Championships in February to a 2021 PSS in January, Swanson had a steady return to form through the winter and spring, culminating at the Olympic Trials. His best event was clearly his 200 breast. Swanson was 6th out of prelims with a big best time of 2:10.62, with his previous PB of 2:11.07 coming in 2018. Swanson was a bit off that in semis with a 2:11.10 to just miss the final in 9th. Swanson was not as successful in the IMs, placing 18th in the 200 IM (2:01.57) and 13th in the 400 IM (4:18.82). The former was a PB but the latter was over 7 seconds off his PB set when he won Pan Ams in 2019.
2021 Summer Nationals–East
Swanson continued to make leaps and bounds in his breast events. In the 100, after setting a PB of 1:01.24 at the Eric Namesnik Memorial Open, Swanson smashed that with a 1:00.81 for 3rd. He made similarly major jumps in the 200 breast. He and Josh Matheny paced off one another during the initial 100, touching a quarter of a second apart at the halfway point. Then, Swanson turned the jets on and split 33.57/33.93 to clear the 2:10 barrier for the first time at 2:09.85. That made him #17 in US History.
Swanson had a decent 2:02.27 200 IM for 4th and topped the 400 IM with a season-best 4:14.33. That 400 IM earned him a spot on the 114-strong US National Team.
2021 ISL Season
Now a pro, Swanson joined Energy Standard in the International Swimming League. Swanson’s notable results included taking 2nd in the 400 IM at the championship match with a 4:04.81 to help his team Energy Standard win the Championship. He also placed 2nd in the 400 IM in Playoff Match 16 with a 4:06.39. His best 200 breast came in Playoff Match 12 with a 2:04.25 for 3rd.
2022 US International Team Trials (Greensboro, North Carolina)
Swanson made the move to train with Eddie Reese at UT and had a brutal winter, culminating in a rough PSS stop in San Antonio a month out from trials. After that, he cut mornings and started swimming a maximum of 3k for 6 practices a week. He focused heavily on technical components.
Swanson had a major breakthrough on day 2 of the 2022 US International Team Trials. After moving through the 200 breast prelims in 2nd with a 2:10.07, Swanson crushed a 1.01 second PB in the final, on the back of a blazing 1:01.06 opening 100. That was not far off his best time in the 100 breast. His early lead was just enough to hold onto the lead down the stretch but at the finish, he and Nic Fink tied for 1st in a 2:08.84. Both Qualified for World Championships.
After the speed he showed in the 200 breast, Swanson clocked a 100 Pb of 1:00.61 in prelims for 5th before popping a 1:00.06 in the final for 3rd.
2022 FINA World Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
Swanson swam a solid prelims in the 200 breast, taking the 3rd seed with a 2:09.36. Interestingly, The race featured a much more conservative first 100 compared to trials with a faster final 50. Swanson added to a 2:09.89 in the semi for 11th.
2022 FINA Short Course World Championships (Melbourne, Australia)
Swanson placed 12th in the 200 bread prelims with a 2:05.51, missing the final by just over a second.
2023 International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
In the 100 breast made a big leap in the final, cracking 1:00 for the first time. He opened in a 28.07 and closed in a 31.82 to place 6th with a 59.89. Earlier in the meet, he had placed 7th in the 50 breast with a 27.79 after setting a PB of 27.70 in prelims. Swanson also took 6th in the 200 Breast with a 2:10.43.
2024 Olympic Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Swimming at Lucas Oil Field, Swanson took another leap forward with a 59.44 100 breast for 3rd in prelims on day 1. In the semis that night, Swanson took another .1 seconds off his PB with a 59.34. In that 2nd semifinal, he powered down the back half o in a blistering 31.19, overtaking Nic Fink and Michael Andrew to touch 1st and take the top seed into the final.
Swanson led the final off the blocks with a .62 reaction time. Nic Fink Blazed out to a 27.08 at the 50 while the rest of the field was tight with Swanson sitting tired for 4th with a 27.73. He methodically moved through the field with his best-in-final 31.43 back half to take 2nd, just .08 back of Nic Fink, with a 59.16. That swim was huge for Swanson as he qualified for his first Olympics.
