The ISL Bubble: Interview with Kasia Wasick
By Dagen Kipling
(Photo: Symon Szszesniak)
Competitive swimming is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. Viewership has continued to increase since Michael Phelps’s historical performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As the sport has aged and progressed, Kasia Wasick has been along for the ride. Kasia Wasick is a prolific swimmer in Poland; she holds the national record in the 100 and 50-meter freestyle and is a European champion in the 4X50 Medley Relay. Her career has brought her to many heights from World Championships to the Olympics, and her journey is far from over. Kasia Wasick is on a campaign to compete at her fourth Olympic games and is currently competing in the International Swimming League in Hungary.
Kasia’s journey in swimming began as a youth. Wasick grew up in Poland, constantly surrounded by the sport of swimming. Her two older brothers were already competitive swimmers, shaping their family’s lifestyle. At the age of 9, Kasia began her swimming career; by the time she was fourteen, Kasia had swum fast enough to make the B final at Polish Jr. Nationals. Though finaling at nationals is a huge success at the age of fourteen, Kasia watched her teammates qualify for even larger competitions During these times, Kasia remained patient, listening to her coach, who believed in her enough to tell her that she would make an Olympic team. A year later, her patience began to pay off. At 15, Kasia started to drop time at every single meet she was competing in; by halfway through her season, she had swum fast enough to qualify for Junior European Championships, where she placed fourth in the 100-meter freestyle. While she might have missed the podium at that event, she did swim fast enough to qualify herself for the 2008 Olympic games. At the age of 16, Kasia Wasick competed in her first Olympics.
After the Olympics, Kasia resumed life in Poland. As she neared the end of her high school career, she had to decide whether she would move to the United States and continue her swimming career at a university or stay in Poland for an extra year to prepare for the upcoming 2012 Olympics. Her brother offered to coach her if she remained in Poland, and Kasia decided to stay in her home country and train to make the Olympic team for a second time. While having an immediate family member as a coach may seem like a trainwreck waiting to happen, Kasia explained how that year’s training under her brother was outstanding. Both athlete and coach had complete trust in one another, and that chemistry created something truly remarkable. Kasia made the 2012 Polish Olympic team and went on to compete in London.
After training with her brother, working on her English, and looking at universities across the United States, Kasia decided to continue her academic and athletic career at the University of Southern California. Kasia joined the Trojan with a hefty resume, but she did not rest on her laurels. She excelled with her new Trojan family and created history during her time there. At the 2016 NCAA championships, Kasia and three of her teammates dominated the freestyle field and brought home USC’s second NCAA relay title in the 4X100 yard freestyle relay. Kasia looks back at that achievement as her proudest moment as a Trojan. Later that year, Kasia graduated with her Bachelors of Science in Psychology, qualified for the Rio Olympics, and became engaged to her now-husband.
Once Kasia returned from the Rio Olympics, she was sidelined from swimming due to a shoulder injury. She took up a job in Las Vegas, working as a clinical research assistant in a psychology lab. While she adjusted to her new life, Kasia watched her friends who continued to swim and realized that her love of swimming had yet to subside. “It wasn’t my decision that I stopped swimming, it just happened, I got injured and a job and stopped swimming. I wasn’t happy with that. I knew I had a chance to make another Olympic team,” Wasick said.
Kasia decided to return to the sport and began to train with a local masters team, giving herself the time she needed to get back in shape without aggravating her shoulder. She enjoyed her time training with the Las Vegas Masters Team, but she also knew that she needed another level of training to return to where she once was.
At a masters meet, Kasia met UNLV’s Swim and Dive team’s head coach, Ben Loorz. After expending all four-years of her collegiate eligibility, Kasia could not swim for UNLV as a student-athlete; however, Coach Loorz explained that he was planning to start a professional team and invited Kasia to be a part of it. Kasia began training with the Rebel Pro Team with one goal in mind — making her fourth Olympic team. Training directly under Ben Loorz and Pat Ota, Kasia began posting times close to her previous times before her injury. With the help of a dedicated and flexible coaching staff, just before the global shutdown, Kasia qualified for her fourth Olympic team.
When the shutdown occurred, Kasia admitted to feeling disappointed that she would not be competing in her fourth Olympics this summer. Kasia Wasick is not one to wallow in her pity. Instead, she has turned this unforeseen event into a positive one. Before the pandemic, she dreamed of making an Olympic A final, now with the extra year to train with the UNLV Coaches, she focuses on bringing home her first Olympic medal.
(Photo: Mine Kasapoglu)
Before she heads off to the Olympics next summer, Kasia is currently residing in Budapest, awaiting the start of the official International Swimming League (ISL). Due to COVID, the ISL has set up a bubble to complete their entire season. Wasick is currently competing for the New York Breakers, achieving another childhood dream — competing for a professional New York Sports team. Kasia and her teammates begin racing in the ISL bubble this weekend and will compete for the entire upcoming month.
Like many swimmers in Wilke’s position, the ISL offered her a way to continue her career at the highest level while adding a new level of excitement to the sport of swimming. “The ISL swim meets bring the ambiance and energy of a nightclub combined with the exciting sport of competitive swimming. If you have not watched swimming or have only watched swimming during the Olympics, I recommend catching one of the upcoming ISL matches on CBS and enjoying the new age of swimming. Kasia and the New York Breakers will be putting on an absolute show every time they hit the water. While it is not the Olympics, and she will be separated from her loved ones while competing in the bubble, Kasia is excited to compete against swimmers she will be racing in Tokyo next year.
You can follow Dagen on Twitter @DagenKipling