Carmel swimming has long been a powerhouse in Indiana with the girls winning 38-straight state titles the boys capturing 10 in a row. The Greyhounds are also on the cusp of producing an Olympian in 17-year-old phenom
Alex Shackell.
With a trip to this summer's Olympics in Paris on the line, Shackell will compete in Thursday's 200-meter butterfly final at the Olympic trials, one night after winning her semifinal heat with a national age group record time of 2:06.10.
Shackell needs to finish among the top two in the final to secure a spot on the Olympic team. Many are expecting a showdown between the Carmel star and Regan Smith, who won a silver at the 2021 Olympics.
Aaron Shackell, Alex's brother and a Carmel alumni, has already qualified for the Olympics in the 400-meter freestyle.
Under coach Chris Plumb, both the boys and girls teams at Carmel were ranked among the top 10 nationally this year.
Committed to compete for the University of California-Berkeley, Shackell tentatively qualified for the Olympics as part of the 800-meter freestyle relay team by finishing sixth in the 200-meter freestyle earlier this week. Her father Nick was a swimmer for Great Britain in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
