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| Chase
KALISZ |
| Sport |
Swimming |
| NOC |
United States
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| Gender | Men |
| Born | 07 Mar 1994
in Baltimore, MD, USA |
| Height | 1.93 m |
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Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Business, Sports Marketing - University of Georgia: Athens, GA, USA |
General Interest |
Famous relatives |
His older sister Courtney competed in swimming for the University of Southern California and at national level in the United States of America, including at the US Olympic trials in 2004 and 2008. His younger sister Cassidy has represented Louisiana State University in swimming, and his younger brother Connor has represented Florida State University. Both competed at the 2016 US Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. (SportsDeskOnline, 17 May 2021; pressboxonline.com, 14 May 2012; digitaledition.chicagotribune.com, 01 Jan 2016; chicagotribune.com, 29 Apr 2021; usctrojans.com, 01 Jul 2008; lsusports.net, 01 Jan 2021; seminoles.com, 01 Aug 2018) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
His older sister had already started swimming. He used to be enticed into the swimming pool by having money thrown into the water, and he would jump in and chase the coins. "I bet I'd leave with more than a dollar some days. That's what kept me staying for swim practice." |
General Interest |
Hero / Idol |
US swimmer Michael Phelps. (digitaljournal.com, 04 Sep 2019) |
Further Personal Information |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"If you want to be a high-level swimmer, you need to push your limits. It's not easy and you need to work hard every single day." (digitaljournal.com, 04 Sep 2019) |
Other information |
RIO REDEMPTION
He says claiming gold in the 400m individual medley at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was redemption for finishing second in the same event at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. "It was pretty devastating for me in my head [placing second in 2016]. When you think back at the legacy of the US 400 IMers, I was really the first one that let the US down since at least 2000, and that was pretty hard on me. This is my lifelong dream. I've accomplished everything else in the sport, world titles, NCAA titles, an American record. This is really the last thing that I wanted to check off." (teamusa.org, 25 Jul 2021)
LEARNING FROM PHELPS
He credits training alongside fellow US swimmer Michael Phelps for developing his mental toughness. "I could list you a billion things that I learned from Michael and that I had the opportunity to get from him that pretty much no one else in the world had the opportunity to get, so I was very lucky. I couldn't imagine a better training situation for someone going to college and wanting to be a professional swimmer one day, wanting to be an Olympian, than being able to be his training partner. The biggest thing I learned from him was probably mental toughness. It's a big factor in swimming and there are a lot of people that are significantly more talented than the best swimmers in the world, but just can't really put it together for different reasons, it's a stressful sport and you focus on one day [at the Olympics] for four years." (espn.com, 14 Jun 2021; georgiadogs.com, 16 Jun 2020)
GETTING INTO IM
He began to focus on the individual medley through training with Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps. "It was more so that it was my best event. I come from a training programme in North Baltimore with Bob [Bowman] and Michael [Phelps], where pretty much every single set was an IM-based training. I eventually just got good enough at that where it just made so much sense to me and that's how it became my best event." (swimoutlet.com, 21 Mar 2019)
CHILDHOOD MEDICAL CONDITION
At age eight he had to crawl down the hall of the family home to tell his parents he could barely move his arms or legs. They initially thought he was feeling the effects of a 5km race he had competed in the day before. However his condition deteriorated and he was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. He was semi-paralysed, but after therapy and rehabilitation he was able to swim six months later and went on to make a full recovery. (teamusa.org, 25 Jul 2021; pressboxonline.com, 14 May 2012)
AMBASSADOR
He serves as an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation. "Being an ambassador for them is an awesome experience. It has a great mission and their swimming programmes are very vital. They have improved water safety and reduced drowning rates over the years." (digitaljournal.com, 04 Sep 2019) |
Awards and honours |
In 2013 he was named Breakout Performer of the Year at USA Swimming's Golden Goggle Awards. That year, while representing the University of Georgia, he was also named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year. (georgiadogs.com, 25 Mar 2017; olympictalk.nbcsports.com, 25 Nov 2013) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He took up swimming at age five, and was involved in a variety of different sports before focusing on swimming. "I pretty much played every sport up until high school - soccer, basketball, lacrosse, swimming. I was terrible at soccer, pretty good at lacrosse, basketball I never really focused on, I don't know why, my dad played basketball in college, but basketball just never really did it for me. Swimming was always my year-round sport and the other ones were more seasonal." |
Club / Team |
Athens Bulldog Swim Club: United States |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Athens, GA, USA |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Going to NCAA American football games, barbecues, travelling, spending time with his dog. (georgiadogs.com, 16 Jun 2020; swimoutlet.com, 21 Mar 2019; teamusa.org, 01 Oct 2016; Instagram profile, 24 Feb 2021) |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
Jack Bauerle [club], USA |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
General Interest |
Injuries |
In 2019 he sustained a shoulder injury that went on to disrupt his training ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (The Baltimore Sun Twitter profile, 25 Jul 2021; baltimoresun.com, 19 Jun 2021; wkyc.com, 13 Jun 2021) |
Olympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 12 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
200m Individual Medley |
1:58.03 |
| 1 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
400m Individual Medley |
4:09.42 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
400m Individual Medley |
4:06.75 |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 4 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
400m Individual Medley |
4:10.23 |
| 3 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
400m Individual Medley |
4:07.47 |
| 4 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
200m Individual Medley |
1:56.43 |
| Heats |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
400m Individual Medley |
4:15.62 |
| 3 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
200m Individual Medley |
1:56.78 |
| 1 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
400m Individual Medley |
4:05.90 |
| 1 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
200m Individual Medley |
1:55.56 |
| 3 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
400m Individual Medley |
4:10.05 |
| 2 |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
400m Individual Medley |
4:09.22 |
World Cup Short Course |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 7 |
2013 |
Berlin, GER |
200m Breaststroke |
2:07.70 |
| 6 |
2013 |
Eindhoven, NED |
400m Individual Medley |
4:06.85 |
| 6 |
2013 |
Eindhoven, NED |
200m Breaststroke |
2:07.00 |
| 8 |
2013 |
Eindhoven, NED |
200m Individual Medley |
1:56.94 |
| 3 |
2011 |
Moscow, RUS |
400m Individual Medley |
4:09.00 |
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