World Champ Emily Escobedo
“Once a World Champion, always a World Champion” is now what we can say about our very own Funkita athlete Emily Escobedo. In the final competition of her 2021 campaign, the American 200m breaststroker claimed best-in-the-world status at the December FINA Short Course World Championships.
In a gritty race, Emily left nothing to chance. “World Championships was amazing and being able to come home a world champion is a dream come true. I knew it would be a tough race and I knew it would be close. I don’t think I imagined it to be that close, but I knew I would have to go out hard if I wanted a chance to win it!”
Emily was focused on her own race but also used her competitors to push her. “During the race, I knew where Molly (Renshaw) was the whole time because she was right next to me! She definitely pushed me to work harder. I couldn’t see too much else in the middle of the pool because she was blocking my view but on the turns I could tell there were a lot of us in close distance!”
When it all comes down to it, it isn’t about who touches the first turn first, or who has put in more hours of training, it is about who touches the (in Emily’s case) 200m wall fastest. “Finishing the race, I didn’t know who won until I looked at the board and heard my name called out! I was relieved because I wanted to get on the medal stand for Team USA. It was my first individual gold on an international stage so it means a lot to me!”
Emily is working hard to finish her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Special Education, which she expects to complete in May of this year. The transition to a new career looms for Emily, and the excitement is coupled with appreciation for all that swimming has taught her. Given she is currently teaching full-time at an ICT kindergarten and is also coaching the silver group of her home club, she is only able to swim once a day. Despite her drop in training, her current plan is to finish out this year, swim the World Champs Trials and possibly swim through the American summer.
Emily’s recent success at the FINA Worlds also included a silver medal in the Women’s 4x50m Medley Relay. We can't wait to see what's in store for Emily in the last laps of her remarkable swimming career.