At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Coan won three gold medals and one silver medal for Team USA. “That felt amazing. It has been two years, but I still have to pinch myself. It still doesn’t feel real,” she said.
On her plans for the future, Coan said, “Right now, I am training for Tokyo. in 2020. Next year, our biggest meeting will be the world championships in Malaysia in the beginning of August 2019. I will have my sight set on that.”
Each day, Coan is motivated by her competitive nature. “It is the desire to be better than I was the day before,” she said. “I recently broke my first world record, and I would love to have more world records.”
She shared that this past May she graduated from Loyola University in Maryland with a degree in Political Science. “I am working at the university right now as I train,” she said.
For young swimmers, Coan encouraged them to always believe in themselves. “I cannot stress that enough,” she said. “If you have the work ethic and the dedication to show up every day, there is nothing that you can’t do and you can’t achieve.”
Coan noted that she has yet to meet American swimmer Michael Andrew, but she is a fan of his swimming vlogs on YouTube. “Our paths have crossed a lot, and I would love to meet him someday,” she said. “I watch his YouTube channel all the time. I would love to someday be featured as one of the swimmers that he interviews. Hopefully, our paths will cross soon and we will get to meet.”
She defined the word success as contentment. “I am really happy with my swimming and I am really enjoying what I am doing right now,” she said.
Digital transformation of aquatics
On the impact of technology on the sport of swimming, Coan said, “Technology has been absolutely incredible. It has been really cool and it has helped the sport of swimming. Not just with stroke technique, but technology also gives people an inside look into our lives and how we train all the time, both in and out of the water. Social media has made a huge impact and it has completely transformed the whole realm of swimming. It is really cool to see Olympians and Paralympians taking advantage of technology.”
Coan acknowledged that she uses GoPro once a week. “My coach and I will use the GoPro to see what I am doing stroke-wise, and we can see what we can do better. It is such a useful tool in my training,” she said.
To learn more about professional swimmer and three-time Paralympic gold medalist McKenzie Coan, follow her on Twitter.
