The ‘Ironwoman’ of Beamer
Published 9:18 am Friday, October 23, 2009
Rachel Kim feels right at home in a swimming pool.
The Todd Beamer High School junior would have to. Kim spends basically every day of the year in one. During the school season, Kim is basically in the pool at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center from 3 to 6:30 p.m. For the first hour and a half, Kim practices with her Beamer teammates on one side of the massive pool and when that practice ends, she starts training with her club team, prestigious King Aquatic Club.
“After high school practice, I just go to the other side of the pool and go with my club team. I love to swim.”
The dedication to the ultra-individual sport of swimming is paying off big-time for Kim.
“Rachel has a great feel for the water,” said Beamer head coach Malcolm Neely. “She works hard in practice physically while concentrating on technique, and she likes to race.”
Last Thursday, the junior swam a state-qualifying time in the 500-yard freestyle during a win over the Decatur Gators for the 4-1 Titans. Kim’s time not only qualified her for state in the 500, but was also good enough to shatter the Todd Beamer school record by 30 seconds.
Swimming one state-qualifying time during the course of the season is impressive enough on its own. But that is just the tip of the iceberg for the multi-talented Kim.
The state-qualifying time in the 500 free was the last of eight state times Kim has surpassed during the year and ended her quest for one of high school swimming’s most coveted feats — Ironwoman status.
Being an Ironwoman means a swimmer has achieved state times in all eight of the individual swimming events offered in high school — 200 free, 200 individual medley, 50 free, 100 butterfly, 100 free, 500 free, 100 backstroke and the 100 breaststroke.
Kim made the Ironwoman attempt last year as a sophomore, but fell short of state times in two events — the 50 free and the 500 free.
“I tried doing it last year, but I missed by a couple events,” Kim said. “Last year it was the 500 that was a lot harder for me.”
That wasn’t the case this year when she was under the automatic state-qualifying time by more than 14 seconds in the event.
“It wasn’t as hard as I thought,” Kim said. “It really wasn’t that bad. I had always wanted to do it. It was just a goal I had and a lot of the girls in club did it. It just felt like the thing to do.”
“Rachel sets a good example for the other girls on the team and keeps the school record-board in constant change,” Neely said. “Rachel is ranked in the top-eight in every event right now.”
It’s still up in the air what events Kim will be competing in when the high school postseason kicks off today at the SPSL Meet at Curtis High School. High school swimmers can only compete in two events in the postseason.
“It will probably be the 200 individual medley and 100 back like I’ve done the past few years,” Kim said. “The backstroke is probably my best stroke. It’s easier for me than other people, I guess. It just feels more natural.”
During her sophomore season, Kim finished in fourth place in the 100 backstroke in a time of 58.21 and was fifth in the 200 individual medley in 2:09.02 at the 2008 Class 4A State Girls Swimming and Diving Championships.
But Kim does have a state championship medal in her personal trophy case. Last year, Kim was part of the Titans’ state championship 200-yard freestyle relay team. The foursome of Kelly Erickson, Jessica Soria, Kim and Eryn Murphy easily outdistanced second-place Newport to snare Beamer’s first-ever girls state swimming title.
Kim, Erickson and Soria are all back this season and have already qualified for the state meet in the event. Murphy is currently swimming at New Mexico State University.
The top swimmers from today’s SPSL Meet will advance to West Central Districts, which is scheduled for Oct. 30-31 at Rogers High School. The Class 4A State Girls Swimming and Diving Meet will be Nov. 13-14 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
