Nationals Marks A Key Milestone On The Way To Singapore, And Then LA

It was just six months ago that Katie Kubiak made her U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships debut and went from a newcomer to one to watch in a matter of days after winning five national titles.

This weekend, she’ll be swimming in her second national championships, this time in the last big meet before she’ll make her Para Swimming World Championships debut in Singapore this fall. 

It does, she admits, feel a little different.

“I think the intention I’m going in with is different,” the 22-year-old Cedarburg, Wisconsin, native said. “I went into nationals in December with the mindset of, let’s see where we’re at. It was the last meet of the season, and I wanted to close it out strong.

Read more about Kubiak and her journey here.

“Now it’s a midseason meet where I’m trying to get a couple more qualifying times for Singapore. I’m trying to hit some season bests, and I’m also just trying to see where I’m at with my training going into Singapore and world championships at the end of the season.”

Kubiak is one of 64 athletes scheduled to compete in this weekend’s national championships, to be held Friday through Sunday at the Idaho Central Aquatic Center in Boise, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2023. Not only has the national championships shifted to the summer, but it will also mark the first time that U.S. Paralympics Swimming has held a major national meet in Idaho.

Read the full nationals announcement here.

“After competing in the southeast for the past two years, we wanted to make sure we promote the sport in other parts of the country,” U.S. Paralympics Swimming director Amanda Duke Boulet said. “With Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon, it’s important for us to garner as much exposure for Para swimming in as many geographic regions as possible. We are so excited about the opportunity to partner with Boise and the Idaho Central Aquatic Center to showcase the sport in a region that hasn’t necessarily had that exposure before.”

While preparing for this meet feels different for Kubiak, it also does for McKenzie Coan, albeit for a different reason.

Coan, a veteran of four Paralympic Games and owner of seven Paralympic and 16 world championship medals, will not be competing in the world championships this fall. Instead, she’ll be starting law school and making that her focus rather than preparing for the world championships.

“(Nationals) is my biggest meet of the year, so I’m approaching it like I would a big international meet,” Coan said. “It’s the biggest competition I’ll attend this year, and I’m putting all my eggs into this basket.”

Coan came home from Paris with a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle S7, her third consecutive podium appearance in the event after winning gold in Tokyo and Rio. But it’s no secret, she said, that although just 29 years old, her body is different from what it was when she started her Paralympic journey. As such, she’s been changing up her training since Paris.

The fact that athletes have a true quad — as opposed to three years between Tokyo and Paris because of the 2020 COVID-19 postponement — allows the opportunity to do that comfortably.

“I’ve been playing around with how many days a week I’m in the water, and what I’ve been doing out of the water has been a big focus,” Coan said. “But I really feel like I’m in a good place. It’s a fresh perspective and a new start, and I think nationals will give me clarity on the things I’ve changed and whether or not I’ll keep them or implement something new afterward.”

Coan will be racing in three events this weekend, focusing on sprints. That includes the 50-meter backstroke in addition to her signature freestyle events.

“I haven’t raced backstroke in a couple years,” she said. “In 2022, I had a breakthrough in the 100 back and got on the world championship podium, and ever since I can’t get it out of my head. Maybe there’s some untapped potential there, so I’m going to see how it feels.”

Kubiak has six events on her schedule. Like Coan, she has also changed her training in the past few months. She’s still adapting what she knew as an able-bodied swimmer to something that works for her as an S4 classification Para swimmer, and recently started working remotely with Jeff Rodriguez, who coaches fellow up-and-comer Koehn Boyd.

Check out Boyd's feature here.

She’ll be joined on deck this weekend by some of the 20 athletes selected to represent the United States in Singapore, including Olivia Chambers, Taylor Winnett, Adin Williams, Evan Wilkerson and Boyd.

Read the full team announcement here.

“I can’t speak for everyone else, but I feel like for most of us this is the last big meet that we have before Singapore,” Kubiak said. “It’s three months out, so this is the last opportunity a lot of us have to go out there, try some new race techniques and see how our training is holding up, see what’s working and what isn’t working and make adjustments.

“I know that’s what I’m doing and I’m sure it’s what others are doing and, honestly, it’s the perfect opportunity to do it because there’s still enough time to make the changes you need to make.”

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to USParaSwimming.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.