By: Elena Trager (Edward R. Murrow College of Communication)
 
Everyone knew Emily Lundgren was going to be a great swimmer from the time she was very young, except Emily. When she was about 10 years old she began to notice the extent of her abilities, and after breaking a 10-and-under record and winning a majority of her meets, she realized, "Hey, wait a minute. I kinda like winning."

Originally, swimming wasn't even on Lundgren's mind. She was a dancer and her sister was a swimmer. But Ludgren's parents kept taking her to swim meets, and boredom got the best of her, so she finally gave in and said, "I'll just do it, too."

When Lundgren's swimming career took off and her schedule grew busier, her parent's gave her a choice: dance or swim. Although she still thinks about dance from time to time, Lundgren does not regret her choice to swim.

"Swimming has definitely taken me places that dance would not have," she said.

In her sophomore year at Washington State University, Lundgren earned the program's first All-American honor since 2007 after she finished 14th in the country in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Lundgren and teammate Dori Hathazi were the first freshman to qualify for the NCAA Champions and the first set of Cougar teammates to qualify for the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons. Additionally, Lundgren is on her way to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Lundgren said she has had a phenomenal support team by her side from the start.

"I've had at least one parent at every meet this year. I think they've actually been to every meet I've swam at," she said.

Lundgren's father, in particular, has been one of her loudest supporters, literally. She said her dad can always be heard cheering on deck at her meets. His cheers even drown out live television broadcasts, according to her younger brother, Jonathan, who watches her meets from the family home in San Diego.

Lundgren's father helped her revive her love for swimming. Like many young girls, around 14 Lundgren reached a plateau in her career, losing some of her drive and interest in swimming. She noticed she was going to practice every day and just going through the motions without really "getting after it," she said.

After her first year of swimming for her high school, Lundgren beat her funk. She got a much needed refresh when COVID-19 hit during her sophomore year. In California, quarantine laws made it almost impossible to swim in a pool for four months. Because of this restriction, Lundgren had to get creative, which is how she ended up swimming tied to a palm tree.

During the lockdown, Lundgren's neighbors were nice enough to let her use their swimming pool. Lundgren said she went there every day with her father, tied herself to the palm tree and just swam. Her father set a timer for an hour, and when time was up he would get her attention by throwing his shoe at her. Lundgren liked the freedom to choose to swim just for fun,

"I think that reignited my love for swimming again, so I was like, 'Okay, I still wanna do this,'" she said.

Her love for swimming was not the only new thing she discovered during COVID-19. Just as many others did, Lundgren picked up a new skill, something different from swimming.

She said her brother inspired her to try playing drums. Lundgren said her favorite genre to play is rock and metal, which usually surprises her friends, who know she likes to listen to pop music, including Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.

"When people hear me play they are always surprised and like, 'Oh, this is screaming music,'" Lundgren said.

Lungren first began learning the drums in an 80s-themed class at the School of Rock. She said rock music is more enjoyable for her to play, because it's loud, fun and exciting. The first song she ever learned on the drums was "Baba O'Riley" by The Who, which most certainly backs up that statement.