Saturday, I got the chance to sit and chat with local athlete Amy Fulmer.
Amy is a graduate of Bellefontaine High School where she competed as a swim and golf athlete. She then went on to compete in swimming at the college level at The Ohio State University.
She weighs in on the 2024 Olympic games and on her recent retirement from swimming:
April: Amy, thank you!!! I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me. What an exciting time for the Olympics in swimming! Can you give me some of your thoughts and insight?
AMY: Yes of course! The United States has a really young team this year. It was a lot of people’s first time on the Olympic team and the few that have Olympic experience only went to Tokyo which was not a typical Olympic experience due to COVID. It was kinda expected that the United States wasn’t going to do as well because of this. There are a couple of veterans on the team such as Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Murphy, and Lily King however they’re kinda getting on the older side so it’s more difficult for them to keep up with the schedule. Except for Katie Ledecky, she won the 1500 last night which was exciting but expected. She has the 800 coming up which she’ll do really well as well. Caeleb Dressel just missed the finals for the 100 butterfly which he won last year so that was a big miss. Same thing with Ryan Murphy he missed the final for the 200 back. However, people like Kate Douglass, Tori Huske, and Reagan Smith have been swimming well so there are definitely ups and downs. I would say right now the Australian team would be the biggest competition. They’ve always been a strong team and are very experienced this year. A stand out so far has been Leon Marchand for France. He had a really good NCAA season and just won his fourth gold of the meet this afternoon. He’s got a lot of support and a home-team advantage. There are a couple of Ohio people doing well. Hunter Armstrong from Dover, OH swam with me at OSU and he got a gold in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay so that was exciting. Carson Foster is from Mason, Ohio he swam at Texas and he got bronze in the 400IM which was exciting. Overall, I think the Americans are doing as well as they can. They went in knowing it was going to be a tough competition and it sure is!
APRIL: As you retired from swimming this past June, what will you miss most about being involved?
AMY: I think what I’ll miss most is getting to compete against my friends. I met so many amazing people through swimming and I always enjoyed seeing them all at meets.
APRIL: What’s your biggest takeaway from competing at a higher level?
AMY: I would say my biggest takeaway is learning how to perform under high levels of stress. I think it’s uncommon for people to experience that level of pressure and be able to practice maintaining their composure and still doing their best. I think this better equips me for stressful events in the future.
APRIL: What advice would you have for a high school student swimmer who is looking to compete at the next level?
AMY: My biggest piece of advice is to just reach out to schools that you are interested in, see what they’re looking for, and set goals for yourself based on that.
APRIL: If you could do it all over again, would you still choose the same path?
AMY: Yes 100%! Swimming has given me so many amazing opportunities that I would have never imagined doing otherwise. Even though it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done I will always be grateful for everything swimming has given me.
APRIL: What are your plans now you are retired?
AMY: I’m currently attending Wright States Boonshoft School of Medicine to become a physician.
While at The Ohio State University Amy achieved:
Career Honors
- CSCAA First Team All-American
- 100 Free (2020)
- 200 Free Relay (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- 400 Free Relay (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- 800 Free Relay (2021)
- 200 Medley Relay (2022)
- 400 Medley Relay (2022, 2023)
- CSCAA Second Team All-American
- 50 Free (2022, 2023)
- 800 Free Relay (2022, 2023)
- 100 Free (2023)
- 200 Free (2023)
- First Team All-Big Ten (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- CSCAA First Team Scholar All-American (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- OSU Scholar-Athlete (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- Academic All-Big Ten (2021, 2022, 2023)
- Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2023)
- College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Third Team (2023)
Amy is the daughter of daughter of Gregg and Pam Fulmer.
