Local swimming sensation Joshua Zuchowski — a 2022 graduate from the King’s Academy where he was the salutatorian of his senior class with a 4.63 GPA — continues to get fitter and faster in the swimming pool as he prepares to continue his academic studies and competitive swimming career at Stanford University in California.
In addition to being an incoming freshman on Stanford’s swimming team, Zuchowski is also a member of the USA Junior National Team. In April, he qualified to represent the United States at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii, which will be held Aug. 24-27.
“For nearly a decade, one of Josh’s goals was to represent his country in swimming, and it’s going to happen,” said Jonathan Zuchowski, Joshua’s father and swim coach.
As for upcoming meets, Joshua and 18 of his teammates with the Flood Aquatics Swim Team will be competing July 22-24 at the Senior Championships in Coral Springs.
“This is a training meet for Josh,” Jonathan said.
After the meet in Coral Springs, Joshua will pack his bags and head west.
“On July 25, we leave for Senior Nationals in Irvine, California,” Jonathan said. “He will only swim a couple of events and begin to taper down for Junior Nationals the following week.”
The Junior Nationals will be a key week for Joshua. “He will try to swim fast in preparation for Pan Pacs,” Jonathan said.
On Aug. 8, Joshua will return home to Palm Beach County and will train for another two weeks before traveling to Honolulu, Hawaii, with Team USA for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. According to Joshua, he will swim the 200-meter individual medley, 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke and another event that has yet to be decided.
After the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, Joshua will return home for a week of rest and down time. He will then pack his belongings for college at Stanford.
“He leaves on Sept. 6 for Stanford, his physical is on Sept. 7, and then he starts training with his new collegiate teammates on Sept. 9,” Jonathan said. “School begins around Sept. 23.”
To stay in tip-top shape, Joshua is swimming 40,000 yards per week. The distance of his practice sessions are between 3,000 and 8,000 yards per workout. He has eight training sessions each week.
“I enjoy training in a 25-yard pool and competing in a 50 meter-pool,” Joshua explained.
In college, it’s expected that he will focus on three main events: the 200-yard individual medley, the 200-yard backstroke and the 100-yard backstroke. His favorite events are the 200-yard and 200-meter backstroke.
In the classroom, Joshua will major in economics at Stanford.
As a high school student at TKA, Joshua had an outstanding competitive swimming career. In all, he was a four-time Florida state champion in the 100-yard backstroke and a three-time Florida state champion in the 200-yard individual medley. He was also a member of the school’s 200-yard medley relay team, which won a state title in 2019, when Joshua was a sophomore. With eight state championships next to his name, Joshua is the most decorated student-athlete in TKA’s history.
When he made his commitment to Stanford, he was the second-ranked boys high school swimming recruit in the U.S. According to Joshua, who committed to Stanford on July 8, 2021, his choice of Stanford, coached by Dan Schemmel, was an easy one to make.
“I always wanted to attend a college in California with a strong academic program and a top-10 swim program,” Joshua explained.
While Joshua is excited about attending Stanford, he knows the transition from living at home for high school to living away at college will not be easy.
“I’m going to miss dinners at home with my family, time with my family and time with my dog,” Joshua said.
In early June, The Palm Beach Post named him as the Top Male High School Swimmer of the Year in Palm Beach County for the 2021-22 school year as well as the Top Overall Male High School Athlete of the Year in Palm Beach County for the 2021-22 school year.
In addition to representing Stanford, Joshua will also keep one eye on the calendar, specifically the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in 2024, where the U.S. will assemble its Olympic swimming team for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. His goal is to earn a spot on the 2024 U.S. Olympic swim team.
