The deafening roar of spectators engulfs the natatorium, the energy shaking the ground and reverberating through the air. Yet, as the final heat steps up to the block, Freshman Austin Chu tunes it all out.

He only thinks about his accomplishments, his training and his race plan. Overlooking the pool ahead, he takes deep breaths to build his confidence. Suddenly, all is quiet, and the only sound he awaits is the starting commands of the referee.

“Take your mark!”

And with the whistle’s piercing cry, Austin explodes off the block, slicing into the water with power and precision. Each stroke and kick embodies the years of preparation leading to this moment.

Background

Chu began his swimming journey at age 5, taking group classes to learn the fundamentals of swimming. A year later, he followed in the footsteps of his older brother, senior Casey Chu, who joined the club swimming with the Clayton Shaw Park Tideriders

In his youth, Austin played both soccer and swam. However, it took him years to find that swimming was his talent. “I don’t feel I ever at that time had a certain motivation. I just wanted to be good enough because I was doing swimming and soccer.” Chu said. 

Nonetheless, Austin got faster; swimming began to take up an increasingly more significant portion of his life. 

“In third grade, when I got one of our team records, I thought I should quit soccer and just focus on swimming,” he said.

Freshman Aiden Kim has spent much of his life swimming alongside Austin. They’ve been in the same club since age 7 and have been close friends ever since. Kim’s initial view of Austin differed significantly from today’s.

“When we were younger, I felt that Austin was one of those kids who don’t put in a lot of work, but they somehow still go fast,” Kim said. “But around when we were 12, and we started to become more senior swimmers, I realize[d] that he put in a lot of work.”

As Austin became more invested, he grew into the swim community. He achieved a personal best time in his first zones meet, a competitive national meet split into regions. The midwest region, where Austin competes, has 12 states attending, he discovered the larger swim community and furthered his passion for the sport. 

“That was my first experience of a big meet with kids all my age. At that moment, I realized that there’s such a large competition field, and they’re also willing to work hard too,” Austin said. “That’s a motivation, just knowing that there’s kids out there, and I’ve made friends with some of them.”

He won the 2023 Central Zones Championships, holds the third fastest time in history for the 100 IM for ages 11-12, and was nominated for the 11-12 Swammy award last year for best 11-12 male swimmer. Austin recently completed the school swim season while also maintaining his position in his club.

Daily Routine

Austin takes numerous honors-level classes while simultaneously juggling two swim practices per day.

“I usually wake up at 4:30 a.m., and then practice starts at 5:15 a.m. I go to school, and when I get home, I usually nap for 30 minutes. I have dinner, and then I go to practice. After that, it’s just homework until I sleep,” Austin said.

Despite his commitment to his training, Austin’s priorities emphasize the importance of school.

Austin gives himself grace by acknowledging the dedication and talents of others; he brings better performance into his races and tests. He attributes his success to knowing how to manage stress. 

“Being at a meet with a bunch of the fastest kids in the pool, you know you can’t have that much pressure on yourself,” Austin said. “If you lose, you know they’re fast, [and] you can bring that mentality into a test. If I do bad, it’s fine.”

School Season

Clayton’s boys’ swim team placed third in Missouri in the 2024 season. Historically, this performance had not been seen for decades at the school. According to Kim, Austin had a significant influence on the undertaking of this achievement.

“To put it bluntly, Austin is extremely fast. He’s broken three school records in his first season, in the 200 IM, 100 butterfly, and 100 backstroke,” Kim said.

His physical power and disciplined approach highlight Austin’s swimming skills, attributes that his teammates often commend. 

“He has incredible physical power, but he’s also incredibly disciplined,” teammate Junior Magnus Yin said. “He has really good technical foundations.”

Austin consistently demonstrates his commitment to swimming through rigorous training and participation in competitions, regardless of his challenges.

“Everyone’s supposed to be giving 100%, but Austin pushes it all the time, regardless of if he’s sick or not feeling well,” Zhu said. “It goes beyond him performing at his best virtually every meet. Not only is he performing his best, but there have been a lot of races where other schools have a very similarly skilled, fast swimmer compared to him, [who] are almost always older than him by several years.”

Austin is dedicated not only to improving his strokes but also to helping out members of the team. “He sometimes sits you down and works on your techniques slightly. He’ll offer tips,” Yin said. 

Austin’s often relaxed, but can become more focused if he needs to be. This is an attribute that his teammates value, as it often takes off the stress of the race and boosts morale.

“If it’s a serious meet, he doesn’t talk much and just swims. But a lot of the time he’s also the jokester. At zones last year we were in the ready room, about to line up to walk out, and he was making a bunch of jokes. He wants to try to lighten the mood,” Kim said. “Then, when you’re about to walk out behind the blocks, he’s always very serious and has his game plan together.”

In addition to being blanched between lighthearted and serious, Austin possesses strong leadership that greatly motivates the entire team. He often uses his impressive speed to guide the team and his relay to improve. 

“He has a solid work ethic when it comes to swimming. [Though] his aptitude is head and shoulders above ours, it doesn’t give us a reason to back down,” Yin said. 

Austin uses his abilities to set higher standards for his relay team, contributing to the team’s improved performance. 

“I think it’s inspired us. Looking at Casey and Magnus’s times, they improved a lot this season,” Kim said. “I saw that they were getting a lot faster in their meet times, and also during training. They were keeping up with me and Austin a lot better than last summer, or last spring.”

“His speed gives us a mentality boost because you never want to be the slowest on the relay. So, you want to challenge yourself to get as close to that speed as possible,” Yin said.

Austin motivates his teammates and is driven by the support he receives from them. He uses this encouragement to strive for personal improvement and meet expectations.

“He feels the need to give it his best, not just for his own sake, but for the sake of the team,” Zhu said. 

“Swimming as a sport isn’t as individual; people may view it because you’re swimming as a part of a much bigger group. It’s not just yourself. So, every time he steps up behind the block, he is fully aware that it’s not just his reputation. Whenever he goes out there, he’s representing his team, not just Clayton High School, not just his club team, but everyone he feels can represent to the best of his ability.”