FAST’s Grace Gannon named Women 13 Year Old Swimmer of the Year

By RICHIE HALL

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The way forward for the Fishers Area Swimming Tigers is robust, because the membership can declare two nationwide Swimmers of the Year on the International Swim Coaches Association’s ORCA Awards.

Grace Gannon was named the 13-Year-Old Female Swimmer of the Year throughout the ORCA Awards, which befell April 17 and 18 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Gannon joins Gabriel Brown, who gained the Boys 9-Year-Old Swimmer of the Year. (Read about Gabriel’s story right here.)

It was the second huge award for Gannon throughout the previous 12 months. She gained the “Swammy” Award because the nation’s high 11-12 feminine swimmer. The “Swammy” was awarded by SwimSwam.com, a swimming web site that options aquatics information from around the globe.

“You’re blessed that your kid works so hard and is in a really good program and there’s a lot of friends and people that help you along the way,” mentioned Mike Gannon, Grace’s father. “When you combine all that, you’re very appreciative as a parent. You appreciate the relationships you develop through swimming that helps inspire your kids and pushed them to work hard.”

During the brief course season, Grace Gannon led the nation within the 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly, and 200 particular person medley, whereas rating within the nationwide high 10 throughout a number of occasions together with distance freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and IM.

Her success continued in lengthy course competitors, the place she led the nation in 5 occasions: the 1500 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, and 400 particular person medley, whereas additionally incomes extra top-10 nationwide rankings.

At the championship stage, Gannon was the 2025 Indiana Age Group State Championship High Point Champion in each brief course and lengthy course, profitable 11 of 12 particular person state titles. She additionally captured the USA Swimming Central Zone High Point Championship, profitable all six of her particular person occasions.

Grace Gannon is off to an ideal begin in 2026. At the 2026 Indiana Age Group State Championships, competing within the 13–14 division, Gannon captured 5 particular person state titles within the 1000 free, 1650 free, 400 IM, 200 butterfly, and 200 breaststroke. She additionally earned runner-up finishes within the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, and contributed to 4 relay state championships, securing High Point honors for the 13–14 women age group.

Gannon adopted that efficiency with a powerful exhibiting at Speedo Sectionals, inserting third within the 400 IM and fourth within the 200 breaststroke.

Above all, Mike Gannon is comfortable about what sort of individual his daughter is, calling her “a humble kid and a good teammate and very respectful of her peers. My wife and I are very proud of her.”

Mike Gannon credited Grace’s coaches, together with Steve Sanchez, Grace’s age group coach “since she was 6 years old,” and naturally FAST head coach Joe Keller.

“It’s not by chance that athletes achieve this type of level,” Keller mentioned of Gannon, Brown and his different swimmers. “It takes a lot of effort on everyone’s part and planning and the execution of it. That’s the involvement and engagement of our coaches, our families and our athletes. Just really proud that people are supporting what we deem as our culture of excellence. They want to be really good at what they do.”