Nelson is an American and US Open Record holder, and she is a three-time individual NCAA champion, and she was named “College Female Swimmer of the Year” in 2019.
She was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. She just recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Psychology. She is the middle of three sisters who were all swimmers, and her father was a swimmer as well. In her spare time, Nelson really enjoys to paint, specifically paint by numbers.
Nelson shared her excitement to be joining the Cali Condors swimming team as part of the second season of the International Swimming League (ISL), which will be held in Budapest, Hungary, later this month. “I am so excited. It has been a long time coming. It’s a week away so it will be fun,” she said.
“I watched the playbacks of all of the meets last year and it was so reminiscent of college swimming for me, which is so fun because I love the team mentality,” added. “The ISL meets are like a production, they will be really cool.”
“To have Jason Lezak as our General Manager is pretty surreal,” she said. “The first time I spoke to him, I was pretty starstruck. I never told him that. I grew up looking up to him, and that 4 × 100 meter freestyle relay race at the Beijing Olympics is literally my favorite race in swimming of all time. He’s the best General Manager, he is super communicative and he keeps us in the loop all the time. I am really looking forward to meeting him in person.”
Each day, she is motivated by her family, and her faith. “I am very connected to my faith so that drives me. Swimming is part of my purpose and I just love the sport. It excited me and it makes me happy. You need to love it at this level to keep doing it. I feel like I have a lot more to accomplish in the sport. I’m beginning the next step of where swimming can go, so I am very excited about that,” she said.
She listed the butterfly and the backstroke as her two favorite strokes. “They rival each other every other year,” she admitted. “Through college, I enjoyed backstroke, but I am excited to swim butterfly more. I am also excited about the skins concept in the ISL,” she said.
For young and aspiring swimmers, she said, “Keep your head in the game, keep training, stay connected to people that you love and stay safe. In general, don’t limit yourself. The sky is the limit, you need to believe that you can achieve whatever you want and go after it. Surround yourself with people that believe those things too.”
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she responded, “Excitement amidst the chaos.”
Nelson defined the word success as “genuine happiness.” “For me, success is about moments, people, relationships and feeling happy and fulfilled,” she said.
To learn more about American swimmer Beata Nelson, follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
