The story of Lundgren’s record-setting WSU swimming profession

“If (Revitt) felt stressed about finals, like the 50 free final later, I told her: ‘I’ve seen you train, I’ve seen you do this. You will do amazing and do everything that you want to do, you just have to believe in yourself.’ And she would do the same to me,” Lundgren stated. “If I was getting nervous about something, she’s like, ‘Okay, well, realistically, these are the splits. You are not going to go slower than this. You can do this.’”

Lundgren gained the 200 particular person medley and set a then-MWC and WSU report within the 200-yard breaststroke at that convention championship meet.

Revitt set a college finest within the 50 free and each athletes contributed to a school-record 1-minute, 36.51-second end within the 200 medley relay — WSU’s first convention relay title in program historical past.

The duo’s improbable week in Texas was only a blip in a stretch of monumental swimming success, notably for Lundgren.

This spring, the senior leaves Gibb Pool as probably the most adorned swimmer in program historical past and the one Coug to have certified for the NCAA nationwide championships all 4 years of her school profession.

She additionally holds faculty information within the 100 breast (58.83), 200 breast (2:06.18), 100 fly (52.60) and 200 IM (1:57.81).

Both Lundgren and Revitt superior to NCAA Championships and returned to that pinnacle this previous yr— changing into the primary WSU swimmers to earn All-America honors in the identical season.

After 4 distinctive years in Pullman, Lundgren graduated from WSU with a bachelor’s diploma in digital expertise and tradition. The swimmer from Chula Vista, Calif., was named a high 10 senior within the college’s class of 2026.

But earlier than Lundgren may set information and blaze to victories, she first wanted to take a leap of religion into the water.

Choosing swimming, selecting Wazzu

As a baby, Elisabeth Lundgren, Emily Lundgren’s older sister, was identified with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a situation that weakened her joints and tissues and made her extra inclined to harm.

With most sports activities untenable, swimming was her solely choice.

That meant that Emily discovered herself within the bleachers for numerous her sister’s swim meets, together with on her seventh birthday when she lastly requested her mom if she may swim too.

Elisabeth was thrilled together with her sister’s choice. However, inside a matter of years, a 12-year-old Emily was quicker than a 16-year-old Elisabeth, who went on to swim collegiately at UC Santa Cruz.

That was irritating at first, Elisabeth stated.

“You’re like ‘Oh my gosh, my little sister’s beating me,’ and you’re walking around the deck, with ‘Lundgren’ on your pack and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, are you Emily?’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m just her lesser-known older sister.’ But I think with maturity, it comes (with) such a sense of pride,” Elisabeth Lundgren stated. “Now it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re Emily’s sister.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m Emily’s sister.’

“What she’s done in the sport is fantastic. I love being related to her.”

When she was 13, Emily gained her age group at Sharkfest — San Diego’s annual open water swim, beating one among her father’s Navy SEAL buddies.

As Emily Lundgren bought quicker and quicker, she started to discipline school swimming provides. Then the pandemic shut down the world and the extent of her interplay with faculties, together with WSU, was a sequence of FaceTime facility excursions and coach cellphone calls.

Her first cellphone name with then-WSU assistant coach Russell Whitaker was practically all of the convincing that the Southern California-raised swimmer wanted to maneuver to the wheat fields of Washington.