Making waves
Ambridge grad earns acclaim on worldwide scope in pool
Lindsay Vrooman’s first international medal was a long time coming.
A 2010 Ambridge Area High School graduate, she made her first U.S. national team in 2013, but didn’t make it to the podium until last week when she won two silvers and a gold at the World University Games July 4-10 in Gwangju, South Korea.
Considering just seven months ago she only finished seventh in the FINA World Swimming Short Course Championships in Doha, Qatar, it’s been a dramatic turnaround.
“That was a really big eyeopener for her,” said Ray Looze, head coach for the women’s U.S. World University Games team as well as Vrooman’s college alma mater, Indiana. “Her growth, just experience, being able to show up and do a great job go [with] not only best times but [to] win medals. … I was just happy with the way she, when given another opportunity to compete internationally, how she responded to that.”
Vrooman placed first in the 800meter freestyle with a personal best time of 8:26.67, which also currently ranks ninth in the world. She added second-place finishes and two more personal best times in the 400-meter freestyle at 4:07.28 and 1,500-meter freestyle at 16:13.85.
Looze said Vrooman had the most demanding schedule of any swimmer, competing on the second day of competition (July 5) and the last (July 10). Although the 1,500 meters silver medal was her first international hardware, Vrooman saved the best for last.
“Toward the end of my 800, when I knew I was going to win, when I was so nervous beforehand, and I wanted it so badly,” she said. “The feeling knowing that I was going to touch the wall first and win my first gold for the USA, that was pretty cool for me.”
Another “cool” moment happened in the 400 free, when Vrooman finished second to fellow Western Pennsylvania native and current Virginia junior Leah Smith. Both set personal records in the event, with Smith breaking the meet record in the preliminary round at 4:04.66.
Vrooman said the two raced against each other all the time growing up but haven’t seen much of each other since high school. Vrooman competed in the Big Ten Conference while Smith swims at Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“Standing on the podium with her was a really cool moment,” Smith said, adding while she raced Vrooman last summer, they hadn’t had as much of a head-to-head competition since 2010. “It kind of brought back those memories, which was cool. And then it was just a really proud moment having two Pittsburgh girls on the podium.”
This was Vrooman’s last year of eligibility for the World University Games as she is 23, the cutoff age, and is enrolled in an online MBA program through DeVry University.
She’ll continue to train at Indiana while sponsored by a New York-based team Badger Swim Club. She’ll compete at either the Phillips 66 National Championships or the FINA Swimming World Cup series in Moscow or Paris in August as well as local meets at Indiana while gearing up for next summer’s U.S. Olympic Trials.
Looze said Vrooman has really put herself in contention for an Olympic spot with her performance at the World University Games. But Vrooman isn’t booking flights to Rio just yet.
“Right now, I’m just really enjoying the opportunities I have to travel and not putting too much pressure on myself,” she said. “But yeah, definitely I’m going to trials so see how well I can do. And then I’ll go from there.”