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| Alyssa
MARSH |
| Sport |
Swimming |
| NOC |
United States
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| Gender | Women |
| Born | 08 Sep 1997
in Opelika, AL, USA |
| Height | 1.76 m |
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Further Personal Information |
Residence |
New Orleans, LA, USA |
Higher education |
Political Science - Duke University: Durham, NC, USA |
General Interest |
Famous relatives |
Her father David Marsh was head coach for the US women's swimming team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and has served as coach of Team Elite Aquatics in San Diego, CA, United States of America. Her mother Kristin swam at collegiate level for the University of California, Berkeley and has also served as a swimming coach. (swimswam.com, 01 Mar 2020; goduke.com, 27 Aug 2020) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
"I started off doing a lot of different sports and ended up focusing on gymnastics until I was 13 when I made juniors [in swimming] and dropped six seconds in the 100m fly. I was like, 'Oh, I'm pretty bad at gymnastics, I guess I'm pretty good at swimming,' so that's when I made that shift. I think it's a good age to start focusing on one thing that you're passionate about rather than doing it all." |
General Interest |
Awards and honours |
While studying at Duke University in Durham, NC, United States of America, she was named the university's Most Valuable Athlete in 2019 and 2020, and earned Most Outstanding Performance in 2020 for setting an NCAA Division I season-record split in the 200-yard medley relay. She also received the Student-Athlete of the Year award in 2020. (goduke.com, 27 Aug 2020) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began to focus on competitive swimming at age 13. |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete, Teacher |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Other information |
PARENTAL INFLUENCE
Her father David Marsh was head coach of the US women's team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, while her mother swam at collegiate level in the United States of America. She says she was not pushed into competitive swimming by her parents. "They knew a lot about the swimming world in the 80s and that sort of toxic environment of over-training, and a lot of people that burnt out like my mum, who ended up having an injury and had to drop it after two years. My dad was a part of the culture and coaching growing up. He was like, 'I don't want my kid to have to go through that.' They protected me in a way. It definitely set me up for a lot of great stuff, but I had to catch up when it came to aerobic base. They wanted to make sure I was well-balanced and well-rounded as a person and an athlete, and they never forced me to do it." (SwimSwam YouTube channel, 21 Sep 2021)
COACHING
She has served as volunteer assistant coach for the swimming and diving team at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, United States of America. (tulanegreenwave.com, 16 Sep 2020)
OCCUPATION
She works as a teacher based in New Orleans, LA, United States of America. "My senior year of college I wasn't sure if swimming was something I was going to do beyond Olympic trials. I was ready to take a next step. I knew teaching was interesting to me because I love coaching, I love helping people reach their goals and potential." (Instagram profile, 20 Nov 2021; LinkedIn profile, 01 Sep 2021; SwimSwam YouTube channel, 21 Sep 2021; International Swimming League YouTube channel, 20 Nov 2020) |
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