ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis native follows a family legacy of swimming. He'll soon get his shot at stardom at the Paris Olympics.
Aaron Shackell turned some heads at the recent Olympic Trails when he became the first swimmer to qualify for Team USA by winning the men’s 400m freestyle race in 3 minutes, 45.46 seconds.
He'll make his Paris Olympics debut at 4 a.m. CDT on July 27 in the 400m Freestyle Heats.
Here are five things you should know about him ahead of the Games:
- The 19-year-old Olympian is a St. Louis native, but he was mainly raised in Carmel, Indiana, after his family moved. The city is around 30 minutes away from where Shackell qualified at the Olympic Trials. The city also renamed itself "SwimCity USA" during the trials.
- His parents, Ali and Nick, are both accomplished swimmers. Nick, who specialized in the 4x100 freestyle relay event, swam for Great Britain during the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 and Team USA in the 2000 Olympics. Ali, who specialized in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly events, is a three-time All-American swimmer.
- He trained at the Carmel Swim Club and attended Carmel High School. After graduating, Shackell spent his freshman year at the University of California but has since transferred to the University of Texas.
- His training partners and mentors are the first-ever Olympians from the Carmel Swim Club: Jake Mitchell and Drew Kibler. Both qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
- He's ranked 2nd in Indiana swimming and 22nd in the nation, according to Swimcloud.
