Hannah Saiz - Kenyon Swimming

Originally from Plattsburgh, N.Y., Hannah, a self-described "slow swimmer," walked on to a Kenyon swim team that had a long history of success. In her senior season, Hannah won the NCAA Division III National Championships in the 200-yard butterfly, the 200-yard medley relay and set an NCAA record time with her teammates in the 400-yard medley relay. She was also named the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year.

Hannah's professional swim career took her to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to train with Schroeder YMCA. In the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Hannah finished eighth in the 200 butterfly. Shortly after, she competed in the 2016 U.S. Open Championships in the 200 butterfly and won the event. The win landed her a spot on the 2016-2017 U.S. National Team. During her professional career, Hannah was ranked in the top 50 in the world for the 200 butterfly in 2015 and 2016.

Following assistant coaching experience at Kenyon, Hannah was named the head coach of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams at St. Norbert College in July 2019.

My conversation with Hannah was a wide-ranging one. Having struggled to fit in with the Kenyon team in her first year, she opens up about how her time at Kenyon shaped her belief about the power of competing for something bigger than herself. When Hannah decided to swim professionally due to "unfinished business," she sought out a training environment that would provide her with the opportunity to build a family.

---------------------

Intro and outro music by: "Loopster" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/