Schaumburg Senior Szymon Mieczkowski earned the State Champion title in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:27.16 at the IHSA Boys State Championship on February 23-24.
In addition to his first-place finish, he also placed 2nd in the 100 backstroke at State that weekend. Szymon’s accomplishments certainly do not stop there, though. He has achieved numerous wins through his swim club, and as for his swimming career through Schaumburg High School, Szymon currently holds 10 of the 11 school records. He was MSL Conference Champion for the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, IHSA Sectional Champion for the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, and IHSA State Medalist this year alone.
Throughout his high school years, Szymon has grown as a student-athlete with the help of his family, as they have helped him mentally prepare before meets and supported him in any way possible for success. His largest influence, he says, is his own determination.
“My biggest motivator was myself. I trained every day to become a better version of who I was the other day. I really wanted to win state, and I was set on that since I entered high school swimming. I would train in the pool and in the gym to make sure that would happen,” said Mieczkowski.
Instead of becoming discouraged from rough meets, Szymon views them as learning experiences and keeps pushing forward. His biggest obstacle, according to Varsity Boys Swimming and Diving Coach Gabriel, was preliminaries at State this year. It did not play out the way they had planned, however, but Szymon did not allow that to discourage him. Out-work everyone. Even your former self. — Szymon Mieczkowski
“As a team, we talked about how a situation or one race does not define you or your season, it is all about how you bounce back from it. That is what defines you. And he bounced back like a champion the next day at finals,” Gabriel said.
Szymon went on to become Schaumburg High School’s first state champion in swimming since 1988 by winning the 200 freestyle, and he also became the second fastest backstroker in IHSA history by coming in second in the 100 backstroke.
“When he is on the pool deck for a meet like IHSA State, he is not intimidated by the environment around him. He knows he belongs there, and he backs it up with each jaw-dropping swim he has,” Gabriel said.
When asked about his favorite memory from his time spent with the SHS swimming program, Szymon mentioned Senior Night, where people came together at a home meet to recognize the seniors as they left the program. He felt as if he had left a good impact on the Saxon Swimming program, with the team holding high hopes for next year. A “good impact” would be an understatement.
“Szymon has the attitude that nothing is going to stop him. He has the utmost confidence in himself and the work ethic to back it up. At senior night this year, Mieczkowski’s advice to the team was, “Out-work everyone. Even your former self.”
Although his high school career has come to an end, his bright future has just begun. A dream come true, Szymon will continue his swimming career at the D1 level at University of Kentucky this upcoming fall. His goal for the future is to earn a spot on the Polish National Team, representing himself and his country.