Evan Coleman: A 12-Year-Old Swimming Phenomenon

"There's got to be something in the water." That's what people outside of Maine may find themselves saying soon if Evan Coleman's progression as a swimmer continues. Evan has been swimming for about three years, and at the age of twelve he's up to par with another great Maine swimmer - Olympic gold medalist Ian Crocker. Evan's 50- and 100-meter backstrokes are beating times that were set by Crocker when he was Evan's age, and he's nearly beating Crocker's times in the butterfly.

At "Swim with the Stars", a summer swim camp with professional swimmers as counselors, Evan had the chance to meet Crocker and Michael Phelps. In a clinic with the two Olympians as his instructors, Evan received advice on his technique and starts - advice Evan will use forever.

All this, and he remains humble. Being the best in his age group in the region isn't enough. Recently, Evan has been stepping up to higher levels of competition. This isn't all just his drive to get better - Evan enjoys swimming, and says that mixing up the competition keeps it fun and interesting for him. "I entered in a pretty big swim meet down in Buffalo that I didn't do so well in. The kids there were all really good." I asked him how that made him feel, and he said, "It's encouraging; after something like that, it just makes me want to work harder."

Even at his young age, Evan knows the harsh reality of sports is that you don't make it to the top without constantly getting better. He's planning on attending the Olympic trials from Nebraska this year, but only to watch; one day, he'd like to participate in the Olympic trials. At his rate of improvement, it shouldn't be long before he's in the pool instead of watching from afar.