Carson Hick competes in the 1650 freestyle at NCAA Division I Championships in March 2024. Photo courtesy of University of Kentucky

Carson with his biggest fan, his mom Leanne, during a break at the U.S. Open Championships, December 2023. Photo courtesy of Jason Hick

A graduate of Los Alamos High School, Carson Hick recently completed his freshman year at the University of Kentucky, where he earned dean’s list honors and was selected to the SEC All-
Freshman team. Carson finished with top 25 swims in several distance swimming events at the Division I NCAA Championships. He qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 800 and 1500 meter freestyle event held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis June 15-23, 2024.

Carson was fortunate to train in Los Alamos at the Larry Walkup Aquatic Center, one of the
highest altitude pools in the nation. High altitudes provide excellent training, but air that is 25%
thinner at 6500 feet makes it challenging in a sport requiring tremendous breath control. Swim
times at altitude are slower, and coaches looking to recruit don’t always know to adjust them.
For this reason, it is important for high altitude swimmers to get timed swims below 2000 feet.

Carson was recruited by a UK coach who was originally from Albuquerque and understood that
times at altitude would be much slower relative to recruits from almost everywhere else.

Carson now trains with distance coach Jordan Lieberman and head coach Bret Lundgaard in a
supportive and high functioning environment, key ingredients to a strong freshman season
where he earned six Kentucky all-time top 10 swims. His mother says, “Carson puts in the work, but his coaches and teammates are the most important aspect of performing at a high level. It
is great to see Carson thrive at a program that is so invested in their athletes.”