Last year, Pieroni became the first man under 1:30 minutes in the 200 yard freestyle. “That was awesome and exciting,” he admitted.
He is native of Chesterton, Indiana, and he attended Indiana University. On his plans for the rest of the year, Pieroni said, “I just graduated from college, and I look forward to competing in the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in South Korea in July.”
Most recently, in mid-May, Pieroni won the men’s 200 meter freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Bloomington, Indiana, where he bested his very own training partner Zane Grothe, and he came in second place in the men’s 100 meter freestyle right behind Zach Apple. “That was good meet,” he said. “Since it was in Bloomington, I got to stay in my house instead of staying in a hotel.”
Each day, he is motivated by his competitive nature and his love for the sport of swimming. “Racing is really fun to me,” he said. “I am always training to get faster and to win.”
Pieroni won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as part of Team USA’s 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay. “That gold medal win was amazing. I wasn’t expecting it since making the U.S. Olympic Team was a dream in itself,” he said.
He is featured consistently in Cody Miller’s vlogs on his YouTube channel, along with Lilly King. “Those are fun. It’s good exposure for the sport in general, as well as for professional swimmers. Cody is good at making them,” he said.
On being a swimmer in this digital age, the 23-year-old responded, “It’s good. I really didn’t know anything else.”
Regarding the impact of technology on aquatics, Pieroni said, “It’s awesome. From a scientific perspective, we know a lot more about technique. Anybody in the world can go back and analyze any world record even if they didn’t see the race in person.”
PIeroni shared that he uses underwater cameras, which are projected off of the screen and are set to a delay so they can see their techniques. “The reaction blocks are full of technology,” he added.
He also uses technology sometimes for recovery purposes such as NormaTec, as well as massage equipment.
His advice for young and aspiring swimmers is as follows; “Never think that you are not good enough.”
Pieroni had nothing but the nicest remarks about five-time Olympic medalist Josh Davis and his Breakout Swim Clinic. “That was awesome. Josh is great and I love how involved he is in the sport of swimming and he is really dedicated to growing the sport,” he said.
He is also fond of the mission of the USA Swimming Foundation. “The work that the USA Swimming Foundation is doing is amazing. It’s so sad when you hear about young kids drowning since learning how to swim should be a necessity. The ambassadors are doing such a great job,” he said.
One of Pieroni’s favorite things to do is taking pictures with his younger fans and signing autographs for them since he remembers his days when he was in their shoes when he would ask elite swimmer Matt Grevers for his autograph and pictures. “It is fun to remember that feeling,” he said.
For the fans and people that have supported him along the way, Pieroni said, “Thank you. I hope I make it exciting to watch the sport of swimming. I feel that I am still new to everything and that I haven’t hit my potential at all so far.”
He defined success simply as contentment in life. “Success is being able to make a living doing what you love and I am doing that right now,” he said.
To learn more about Olympic gold medalist and world-class swimmer Blake Pieroni, follow him on Instagram.
Read More: This journalist previously chatted with Blake Pieroni on the red carpet of the 2018 Golden Goggle Awards in New York City.
