INDIANAPOLIS — A local athlete is making waves as the only swimmer from an Indianapolis-based club to compete in the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium.
20-year-old Logan Kelly is a swimmer with IU Indianapolis and a part of the Jaguar Aquatics Swim Club.
“I’m super proud of him, I’m super proud of the program and I think this is a very good inside look at who we are, how far we’ve come and where we’re going,” IU Indianapolis swim coach Damion Dennis said.
Not only is Kelly set to be the only Indianapolis-based swimmer in the trials this year, but he’s also making history for IU Indy as the first person from the Jaguar Aquatics Swim Club to compete in the Olympic Swim Trials.
“It’s really cool to be able to represent the Jaguar team,” Kelly said. “It’s cool to be able to be here with or without teammates, and I know all of them are going to be cheering me on either from the stands or from home just watching TV.”
The Minnesota native says he began his swimming career with a YMCA team as a kid. His first visit to IU Indy’s campus was for a swim meet in 2016.
Kelly says he was about half a second away from qualifying in the Olympic swim trials in 2021. Since then, he has been making consistent progress.
“I went from a 54.6 to a 52.2 in one season and I’ve been consistently dropping time in at least one of my events,” Kelly said. “Now I’ve gotten here, and it’s really cool to have it be held in my town of Indianapolis.”
He is serving as an inspiration for other students in the Jaguar Aquatics Swim Club.
“Doing the little things right, being consistent, working hard, challenging yourself on a regular basis, we’re seeing a lot of that in our program, but I think this is a good representation of what we do in the program and who we are,” Dennis said. “It’s opening up the possibility for other people to believe they can do it too.”
Kelly competed in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes today. He joins nearly 60 other Hoosier athletes competing in the trials.
