arena Announces Partnership With UVA Phenom, Olympic Medalist Emma Weyant

courtesy of arena, a SwimSwam partner.

Just before she wraps up her phenomenal breakout year, the United States’ top 400 IMer, Emma Weyant, is closing out 2021 by announcing a partnership with the global swimwear brand, arena. The freshman at the University of Virginia is joining an exclusive group of top-tier NCAA athletes that have signed professional contracts under the new name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules that went into effect this year. With her 20th birthday just around the corner, Emma is now able to add sponsored athlete to her anything-but-ordinary teenage accolades. Weyant will also be battling it out with a chance to win her first World Title at the Short Course World Championships this week in Abu Dhabi. She will be competing in the 400m free, 800m free, and her signature event- the 400m IM.

As an age-group swimmer, Weyant broke onto the international scene in 2018 when she attended her first Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Fiji. While she swam several events, she immediately stood out in the 400m IM. At just 16-years-old Emma used her back half strength in the grueling event to secure a first-place finish and take home a gold medal for Team USA’s Junior Team.

All throughout the next year, Emma continued to shave time off her personal bests. The following summer, in August of 2019, Emma arrived at the US National Championships prepared to swim against all the biggest names in USA swimming and go head-to-head with several veteran IM specialists. In the 400 IM, her best event in which she had dominated at a junior level, Weyant was seeded 9th going into the meet; over 6 seconds spanned between the top seed and the youngster in the event. Emma swam a competitive morning swim in prelims, a bit off her best time but fast enough to seat her as 3rd seed going into finals. After a thrilling 350 meters of the 400-meter race, Weyant was able to surge past her competitors and touch first to become a US National Champion. Her winning time shattered her previous best and cast her into an international spotlight as she moved her way to the 5th fastest time in the world that year.

Emma was set to attend UVA in the fall of 2020, but after the pandemic pool closures, her massive time drops and success in 2019, and her sights set on making the 2020 Olympic Team, she made the decision to defer her commitment a year. This was a decision that several of the nation’s top incoming freshman made that year, as there was an uncertainty surrounding the college season amidst the pandemic and a massive potential benefit to remaining consistent in training leading up to the high stakes meet.

Post-high school graduation, Emma remained in Sarasota, Florida to continue to train with her club team, the Sarasota Sharks. In June of 2021, she headed to Omaha with her long-time coach Brent Arckey, to compete for a spot on the Tokyo Olympic roster. While most athletes compete in a secondary event at Olympic Trials leading up to their prime event to shake the jitters out, Emma’s best event fell on the very first day of the meet. Although Emma entered the meet with the second-fastest time, she would still need to perform at her best to secure her ticket to Tokyo. In her typical fashion, Weyant found herself in the front of the field in the second half of the race. Her time put her in second position heading into the final. On the evening of June 13th, Emma walked out next to three former Olympians for the biggest race of her life to date. As she stroked through the first half of the race, she remained in the middle of the pack. She was known to dominate in the second half of her races, and as the race progressed, she did just that. Weyant moved fiercely from 5th position into a battle for second against some of the world’s best freestylers. With the wall approaching it was time for Emma to make her final move. In a split-second, Emma’s dream of becoming an Olympian became a reality; she burst past the field in a shocking turn of events and touched the wall first. Her winning time took almost two additional seconds off her lifetime best and earned her the honor of becoming the first American woman to be named to the 2020 Olympic pool-swimming roster.

At her Olympic debut this past summer, Emma didn’t crack a bit under pressure. The first-time Olympian built upon her momentum from Trials and dropped another lifetime best from just weeks prior. Her impressive time placed her humbly as the top seed by almost two seconds going into her finals swim. Emma was able to win the first Olympic medal from a female for Team USA in the pool. Finishing just ahead of her American teammate, Emma won the silver medal. Not only was this the first female-won medal for Team USA in the pool, but it also marked the highest individual Olympic finish ever by a UVA-affiliated swimmer.

Arena General Manager, Mark Pinger, recalls watching several of Emma’s races this past summer while on the edge of his seat. “Emma had a fantastic year, qualifying for the Olympics on the first day of Olympic Trials and bringing back a silver medal from Tokyo.  She is part of the young crop of athletes that stormed onto the USA Swimming National Team roster this summer.  We love her determination and we are excited to support her as she continues to make an impact in the world of swimming!”

Since the Olympics, Emma has proved herself to be a powerful edition of the UVA roster her freshman season. She has continued to stand out in the 400 IM and has also showed her distance freestyle prowess in a short-course-yards setting. She was also recently nominated for the Golden Goggles award “Breakout Performer of the Year”.

Arena is so grateful to partner with such a strong female athlete. The brand is excited at the opportunity to support and build its relationship with Emma while she pursues college athletics.

Emma has expressed that she is “so incredibly grateful and excited to be joining team Arena! It’s a dream come true to continue my journey with the best people, products, and company. Honored to be a part of this family!”

Emma will be joining an impressive group of professional athletes that represent arena, including two of her fellow UVA teammates- Paige Madden and Kate Douglass. Arena is also the lead sponsor for UVA Swimming, as well as the United States National Team.

See arena North America here.

Follow Arena USA on Instagram here.