Taylor Swift‘s new album “The Life of A Showgirl” came out on Friday, October 3rd, and her childhood best friend and former Division I swimmer Abigail Anderson received a mention in the 6th track “Ruin the Friendship”.
Anderson and Swift met at Hendersonville High School in Nashville, where they were in the same English class as freshmen. Anderson has been one of the pop star’s best friends ever since, and received her first Taylor Swift song mention in the singer’s 2nd studio album “Fearless”.
In Swift’s new album, Anderson is mentioned in the 3rd verse with Swift writing “When I left school, I lost track of you/ Abigail called me with the bad news.”
What does this have to do with swimming? Anderson was a Division I swimmer at the University of Kansas, where she scored 77 points at the Big 12 Championships as a junior in 2011.
A butterfly and backstroker, Anderson was a four-year letterwinner at Hendersonville where she was named the school’s “Swimmer of the Year” all four years she was in high school.
While there, she finished 2nd in the 100 butterfly at her high school state meet, breaking the school record in the 100 fly, 100 free, and 200 free events.
In college, she swam for Kansas University for three years. While a Jayhawk, she swam the butterfly leg of the Kansas 200 and 400 medley relays all three years, helping break the school records in both as a freshman.
In 2009, she helped score 95 points for Kansas at the Big 12 Championships, setting the fastest time on the team in the 100 fly, and 100 and 200 backstroke.
At the 2010 Big 12 Championships, she finished 8th in the 100 back (54.28), 11th in the 200 back (1:58.42), and 8th in the 100 fly (54.34).
In 2011, she finished 6th in the 100 fly, swimming 53.47 to earn her best conference finish in college. She also earned another ‘A’ finals swim in the 100 back, swimming 53.56 in prelims and finishing 8th in finals, and a ‘B’ final swim in the 200 back with her time of 1:57.26.
Anderson swam the first semester of her senior year, racing her last college meet in December at the Missouri Invitational. There, she set a new personal best time in the 100 fly of 53.39.
In 2013, she won the 18-24 age group 50 back (26.49), 100 back (55.82), 50 fly (24.76), and 100 fly (55.29) at the Masters Short Course Nationals. She followed that performance up with two wins in the 100 back (1;08.52) and 50 fly (29.04) at the 2014 Masters Long Course Nationals.
She continued to swim for a few years after, racing at various meets for her club team, the Middle Tennessee Swim Club before swimming her last meet in June of 2015.
Anderson and Swift have remained friends through the years, with Swift telling Oprah Winfrey in 2009 that they were both living their dreams. “She wanted to be a swimmer and go off on a college scholarship for swimming and I wanted to be a singer. Now she’s off at Kansas on a swimming scholarship and I’m singing.”
In 2015, Swift took Anderson to the Grammys as her date when she won the award for Album of the Year for her 1989 record.
Recently, Anderson welcomed her first child and Swift commented on the pregnancy announcement, saying “When the internet says ‘MOTHER’ I feel like this pic is actually what they mean.”
I was swimming at Texas during the Abigail Anderson era. Good times! Every time we went to Kansas for a meet there were rumors T-Swift had popped in to watch.
And when Taylor’s next album is also announced on a sport podcast but this time it’s the swimswam pod with Coleman and Mel, then what?
Not sure I have the story completely correct – you’d have to fact check with him – but I believe Coach Campbell at KU didn’t exactly know who this singer was that was his swimmer’s best friend, but his daughters knew and he has pictures of TS with his children from long ago when she came with Abigail to a swim team barbecue at the family’s house.
Abigail also swam Masters Nationals several years ago – winning many events and landing on the cover of Swimmer magazine.
Who is this “Taylor Swift” that you speak of?
Most famous woman in the world.
Idk about that
Here he is again. Mr. “Idk about that” who has never said anything interesting but is positive that whatever everyone else says is wrong.
Get a life dude. Or at least an independent thought?
But I only listen to good music.
Hey Downvoters:
Folklore and Evermore were good.
Since then? Not so much!
It would be cool if TSwift could mention swimming in her lyrics! Maybe her friends swim career!
Sorry, nowadays she prefers talking about Travis’ “redwood” or comparing Charli XCX to a toy chihuahua.
Randy – where are you on this ?
Need the haiku lyrics, stat.