By: KURT HARNISH ’20, staff writer
One LVC swimmer is looking to remain highly competitive and recapture more medals while still balancing his school work.
Ian Lloyd, a senior physical therapy major, started swimming at the age of 18 months old. Lloyd’s mother never learned to swim and wanted her kids to learn.
“My grandma had a pool at her house,” Lloyd said. “My mom would take me over and I started to learn at her pool and the YMCA.”
Lloyd started to swim competitively at age 4. As he got older, Lloyd realized that he was becoming a good swimmer and was enjoying the sport more than he thought he would.
“I was a big kid and swimming didn’t require much muscle or athleticism,” Lloyd said. “Swimming was one of the things I was good at.”
Swimming turned into a passion as he continued to compete competitively throughout middle and high school. When it came time to make a college decision, Lloyd knew that he wanted to be a physical therapist above all else, which is why he chose LVC.
“Schoolwork and good grades have always been a focus of mine,” Lloyd said. “I am more focused on my academics this year because it is the first year of my graduate program for physical therapy. The workload has become increasingly harder.”
Even though Lloyd is focusing more on his academics, he feels confident about the upcoming swimming season.
“I feel good about my off-season and pre-season training,” Lloyd said. “I always give a 110-percent, which is why I believe I will have an accomplished swim season and academic school year.”
Last year, at the MAC (Middle Atlantic Conference) championships, Lloyd was able to win one gold and two silver medals. The gold medal was in the 200-meter butterfly, the silver medals were in the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter Individual Medley.
Team Preview
Lloyd is a team captain and has a lot of confidence in both the men’s and the women’s teams.
“I hope we have a good year and we all have a good time,” Lloyd said. “The team has looked good throughout pre-season and we believe we will find success this season.”
Mary Gardner, the aquatics director and head swim coach at LVC, recruited many girls for the women’s team but struggled finding some male recruits. However, she is confident in the group of men she has on the team.
“We have a very nice group of young people, and even though the men have less numbers, I push them to continue to work hard,” Gardner said. “As a team I want us all to have a good time and I expect my swimmers to enjoy their swim season.”
Gardner also has much confidence in Lloyd’s abilities.
“His schoolwork is going to be his burden/beast,” Gardner said. “But if he can conquer that, he will find success in both the pool and academics.”
Caption: (Pictured) Ian Lloyd looks at the opposing competition during their warm-ups at Scwheikert Relays which were held at Susquehanna University.