Noah Busch Doesn’t Get The Nervous Before Races Anymore, But His Heart’s Definitely Going To Be Racing At The Para Pan Pacific Championships

Noah Busch has no shortage of goals for his swimming career over these next few months. 

One is setting the American record in the 200-meter individual medley SM9, which he hopes to do at the Para Pan Pacific Championships taking place Aug. 28-30 in Walnut, California. Another is making the high school state championships in Florida, where his family moved two years ago after leaving Maryland. And another is to move up from the U.S. under-23 team to the “B” team.

“I’ve been chasing this ‘B’ cut for the 50-meter freestyle for four years now and I’ve been stuck at (just over 27 seconds) the whole time,” said Busch, 17, who would need to swim 26.81 to hit the mark. “So, my coach has really been focusing on getting power off the block.”

Not quite three years ago, Busch was still a newcomer on the national team scene. He was one of the younger athletes competing at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile when he won bronze in the 50 freestyle S9. Now that the newness has worn off, he said, national team coach Patrick McCloskey would probably say Busch is a little too over confident at domestic meets. 

“Being on the U-23 team for so long is kind of normal at this point,” Busch said. “My heart doesn’t get racing at nationals anymore or anything like that. It’s just another step in the road. But Pan Pacs, my heart’s definitely going to be racing.” 

The goal of setting the record in the 200 IM came about after a strong showing at nationals in Idaho earlier this year. Busch swam 2:30.11 in the prelims and 2:25.32 to win the final. 

“It was really surprising to me that I went 2:25 because I used to be at 2:29, and that’s been like that for four years or so,” said Busch, who was born without his right hand and half his right forearm because of a blood clot in utero. “I have a really hard time dropping time sometimes and that was one of those events. Now I’m thriving in it. And it’s amazing that it’s the 200 IM because I used to love it as a kid. I used to like breaststroke and I don’t really swim it anymore, but this gives me a chance.”

Busch attributes part of the big drop in time to his innate competitiveness and desire to win. But a friendly wager — that didn’t come to fruition — also helped. Coach McCloskey, whom Busch said he’s never seen clean-shaven, agreed to shave his beard if Busch hit the “B” cut time in the event. If he didn’t, Busch would have to shave his head.

“We never shook on it, thankfully, but it was a real motivation,” Busch said.

Busch didn’t make the cut, which is 2:22.42. But that goal did put the American mark of 2:20.13, set by four-time Paralympian Cody Bureau in 2014, in his sights.

“I think it’s achievable,” he said. “I think it’s a finger-length away.”

Busch hasn’t raced internationally since a Para Swim World Series meet in Barcelona in 2025, he said, and at that last meet he hadn’t been training as much as usual, so he didn’t achieve the results he would have liked. But in general, he said, the family’s move to Florida and his training as a member of St. Petersburg Aquatics under head coach Fred Lewis has helped him a lot. 

“I got way faster,” he said. “In Maryland I would always procrastinate. I’m not even going to lie. But Coach Fred doesn’t let me procrastinate. At all.”

Lewis has been helping him prepare to race the 200 IM and go after the American record ever since his strong showing at nationals. Once the Pan Pacs are over, the focus will turn immediately to his senior high school season, which started in mid-August. Busch hopes to swim in two events at the state championship this year, after missing last year’s cut in the 100 backstroke by .01 seconds. 

“That’s a big motivation,” he said. “My friends also motivate me because they nag me about it, too.”

With all those goals swirling around, it would be easy to get nervous or put too much pressure on one event or meet. And while Busch said he does get nervous, he tries to focus on just having fun and enjoying the moment until he’s on the block.

“All the coaches and all the swimmers I know don’t take anything too seriously until I’m in the ready room waiting to get on the block,” he said. “Until then I just try to push the nervousness to the side otherwise I’ll just be stressed and tired from stressing all the time. And I don’t want that to happen.”

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.