Olivia Herron’s rise to the top of the collegiate swimming world didn’t happen overnight, or in even one or two seasons. But once the switch flipped, it flipped.
The English swimmer has always been passionate about her sport, dating all the way back to the swim lessons she took and excelled in as a child. But after a “disappointing” 2023-24 season, this year, Herron’s mindset shifted.
“I did well last season, but it was slightly disappointing with what I wanted,” Herron said.
“There was definitely a realization that I didn’t have too long left to swim in college, and if I wanted to do something, it was going to have to be sooner rather than later,” Herron said.
The junior delivered in a big way. Herron set four Missouri Valley Conference records, including the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and the 200- and 400-yard individual medley races.
Herron’s season culminated in a trip to the NCAA championships, where she broke her own MVC and school records in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard IM and 200-yard breaststroke, where she made the consolation heat and was named a second-team All-American.
Herron said that she learned to view practices in a different light, which helped to fuel her breakthrough.
“I really just started to enjoy it, rather than looking at practice as a negative thing, looking at it as a positive thing and enjoying working hard… I like feeling fast and swimming fast, so I think it helps,” Herron said.
“I focused a lot on the small details, and I worked closely with (assistant coach) Michael (Hampel), and it just seemed to work. The training style, we changed a few things that really worked,” Herron said.
Brooklyn Anderson, a fellow junior who also competes in the 200-yard backstroke and 200- and 400-yard individual medley, said that the path toward improvement started with the 2024 NCAA championships.
“Last year, (Herron) went to NCAAs with Celia (Pulido), and I think that really motivated her to see the goals that she could accomplish,” Anderson said. “This year, she’s just really focused and pushed in every aspect.”
Swim and Dive head coach Geoff Hanson said that another big part of Herron’s development was her choice to stay in Carbondale during the summer of 2024 as well as compete in several meets that featured long course, 50-meter swimming as opposed to the typical 25-yard lane.
“She did a lot of work on the mental side of things, race preparation… she just worked on how to prepare yourself mentally for races,” Hanson said. “And then she just committed to training and getting stronger physically. She’s a lot stronger than a year ago, both from what we do in the pool and then what she did in the weight room last year.”
Staying in Carbondale meant that Herron would be away from Manchester, England, where she was recruited from.
“I always wanted to come to America to swim because I had an older teammate who came out. It just looked amazing. And then the facilities and the opportunities that you have here for swimmers, we don’t really have that at home,” Herron said. “I spoke to a lot of schools, but SIU just ticked all the boxes that I wanted.”
She said, “Honestly, it’s ticked boxes I didn’t even know I had originally. It’s been more than I could have hoped for, and more than I ever expected.”
During Herron’s recruitment, which according to Hanson was done entirely over Zoom during the pandemic, it immediately became clear that she’d be a fit for SIU, too.
“We just knew that she was a really good student, a good, good swimmer from out of high school… and knew that she could help us in events where we needed her,” Hanson said.
Outside of the pool, Herron’s aptitude as a student was also recognized recently when she was named the MVC Scholar Athlete of the Year. She is studying to be a veterinarian and holds an impressive 3.91 GPA.
“It was really hard. Last semester was really challenging, I struggled a lot to manage both,” Herron said. “I’ve gotta keep focusing on those, and just keep reminding myself why I’m doing this because it’s easy to just kind of be like ‘Oh, this doesn’t matter, this doesn’t matter,’ but I’ve got to to keep reminding myself that it does and it adds up and it will be worth it in the end.”
Herron’s dedication in the classroom is evident even to her coaches.
“She does the balance very well,” Hanson said. “She’s committed to that. She’s a really great, great student, and that comes first.”
According to Anderson, who is Herron’s roommate and one of her best friends, Herron’s talents and work ethic have also led to her being viewed as a role model for her teammates.
“As a swimmer, she’s hardworking, just someone to look up to for sure. She’s like the epitome of hard work and success,” Anderson said. “As a teammate, she’s always there encouraging people, and as a friend, she’s so fun to be around and always joking.”
Herron is also quick to give credit to her teammates and coaches for their role in her ascendance.
“It means everything. To be honest, I wouldn’t be who I was, I wouldn’t have had the year I had without the team. It’s as much of a credit to them as it is to me,” Herron said.
For the first time in 30-plus years, SIU had two women score at the NCAA championships, which helps to continue to spread SIU’s name nationwide in the swimming scene. And according to Hanson, having a teammate like Herron helps to elevate the swimmers who are already at SIU and shows “you can be at the highest level, you can be at an institute of champions.”
And because of how good she’s gotten, Herron’s continued improvement is now based more in the details, fine-tuning them and stacking that with the work she has already done.
“The faster you get, the harder it is to get faster. The margins become smaller and smaller, so now it’s about getting stronger,” Hanson said. “We’re fighting for tenths and hundredths of seconds.”
Herron herself isn’t quite sure where she will follow up this year’s performance. But don’t mistake that for thinking she can’t do it.
“It gives me a lot of confidence for next year,” she said. Moving forward, I did this by doing good times, and kept doing good times and getting faster, so I don’t see it as, why stop getting faster?”
Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook.