Molly Kowal is a competitive swimmer who represents the United States internationally. She was the 2019 NCAA runner-up in the 1,650 and the bronze medalist in the 1500 at the 2019 World University Games.
High School (Nazareth Academy)
In high school, Kowal was a two-time All-State and four-time All-District honoree. She qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the 400 IM.
College (Ohio State)
2016-2017
Kowal was an immediate impact swimmer for the buckeyes in her freshman campaign. Kowal placed 6th in the 1650 free (16:02.35), 10th in the 400 IM (4:12.64) and 14th in the 500 free (4:43.16) at the Big Ten Championships. Her time in the 1,650 qualified her for NCAA’s as a freshman, where she finished 30th in the 1650 free (16:14.57), 37th in the 500 free (4:42.57) and 47th in the 400 IM.
2017-2018
Kowal made great strides in her 2nd season in Columbus. At the conference meet, she placed 3rd in the 1650 free (15:53.11), 6th in the 400 IM (4:10.28) and 7th in the 500 free (4:40.21).
Kowal went on to finish 7th in the 1650 free (15:52.80) at the NCAA Championships, claiming first team All-America honors. She also placed 21st in the 500 free (4:40.26).
2018-2019
Kowal’s development continued at Ohio State, and her placings continued to ascend. She was runner-up in the 1650 free (15:49.53), and finished 5th in the 500 free (4:39.48) and 400 IM (4:09.00) at the Big Ten Championships. At the NCAA’s, she was runner-up in the 1650 free (15:44.61) and placed 30th in the 500 free (4:41.71) and 34th in the 400 IM (4:12.60).
2019-2020
At her last B1G Championships, Kowal took control, taking a conference title in the 1,650 and breaking the B1G meet record with a time of 15:43.17. She also recorded a career-best in the 500 free of 4:39.35 to take 5th in the event, and took 9th in the 400 IM in 4:09.93.
National/International
2019 World University Games (Napoli, Italy)
At her 1st major international meet, Kowal won a bronze in 1500, touching for 3rd in a time of 16:20.94.
