oUR cOACHES

Specialties: Backstroke & Freestyle 

2X Olympic Gold & Bronze Medalist Olivia Smoliga grew up in Chicago, IL. with her younger brother Matt. Only 4 years apart, their relationship boded an active lifestyle as kids - biking to 7-Eleven down the block for slushees, running laps around the park to see who could be faster, or who could run the most hills. Early on, Olivia was invested sports. Firstly, with dance - Irish, of all choices - even though her parents are Polish immigrants. She tried diving, gymnastics, volleyball ... all until she started to swim. When Olivia was 10 years old, she joined her first swim club, where she only really remembers getting water up her nose and in her ears. It wasn’t until she watched the 2004 Olympics on TV that the sport caught her eye as something magical. In 2012, at just 17, she competed in her first Olympic Trials where she placed 4th in the 100m backstroke, in the top 10 in the world in that event. Butmissing the team by 2 spots at the time, was heart breaking. It was her dream to become an Olympian, and she fell short. Staying the course, five months later, she was selected to be on the shortcourse world championship team. There, she won her first individual title in the 100m backstroke and broke the American record in the 50m backstroke, getting silver. 

Olivia then committed to the University of Georgia, where she helped the women’s team win 2 team NCAA titles with 3 titles of her own. The summer of her junior year, she went on to compete at Olympic Trials again.Her dream of becoming an Olympian for the first time was fueled by her parents. As Polish immigrants, they traveled to the states in the 90s, where they started their own wood flooring business. They helped Olivia and her brother believe that they could achieve anything they wanted with hard, determined work. They were granted their American citizenship, won awards and recognition for their work, and proved that even if you start from nothing, your dreams can become a reality. Olivia qualified for the 2016 Olympics in the 100m backstroke and the 4x100 medley relay. In Rio, she finally won gold in the 4x100 medley relay preliminary heat. Since 2016, Olivia has qualified for 3 World Championship teams and a Pan Pacific team. She is the current LCM 50m backstroke World champion and American record holder. With the support of her suit sponsor, FINIS Inc., Olivia trained and qualified for her second Olympic team in June 2021. In July she headed to Bejing for the 2021 Summer Olympics, where she competed on the 4 X 100 Free Relay and won a Bronze Medal. Olivia hopes to be an inspiration for the next wave of athletes, and non athletes - urging them them to never give up on whatever their dreams may be with positivity, dedication and hard work.