A new location for a children’s swim school franchise that opened locally in Paoli, Pennsylvania, last fall came with a prestigious name attached. Former Olympic swimmer Kristina Ann “Kristy” Kowal is a franchise partner, along with her brother, Keith, and her sister-in-law Erica.
For Kowal, it was fitting to get involved with kids at this early stage of learning, as her own early swim classes with her parents helped set her up for success.
“I must have learned to swim way back when my mom would bring me and my brother to Baby and Me classes,” Kowal recalls. “One of my mom’s big things was that she wanted us to both be water-safe, since she’s not the strongest swimmer in the world. She wanted to ensure that my brother and I were always comfortable and confident in the water.”
Only its second location in Pennsylvania, Big Blue Swim School Paoli is less than an hour away from Reading, where Kowal grew up, learned to swim and started her Olympic training. She hopes the school will encourage children to develop a love of swimming and aquatic activities similar to her own, helping them overcome any fear they might have of the water.
Building a Champion
From her own humble beginnings to Olympic stardom, Kowal’s journey had its ups and downs.
Kowal first saw the Olympics on TV when she was 8 years old, and she decided she wanted to become an Olympian after watching competitive swimmers race. She trained for several years at her local YMCA and with her high school’s swim team. She went to the United States Olympic Trials when she was 17 but came in third place by 17 hundredths of a second and just barely missed qualifying for the games.
This would not deter her from her Olympic dreams, though.
“It turned out OK because I had committed to the University of Georgia. When I went there, I was blessed to have the best coaches in the entire world,” Kowal says. “I had to focus on my collegiate goals and my U.S. swimming goals, but the Olympics were always in the back of my mind.”
Kowal eventually qualified for the 2000 Olympics, where she would go on to secure a silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. She described the event as “Disneyland for athletes.”
Besides earning her medal, Kowal says some of the most exciting parts of the experience for her were meeting Serena and Venus Williams, participating in the Olympic opening ceremony and being interviewed by Katie Couric for Today after her win.
Kowal began studying to earn her master’s degree in 2004 while training to be an alternate in the 2004 Athens Olympics. After the games, she moved back to Pennsylvania and started working as a substitute teacher. Today, Kowal, now 45, continues to teach elementary school in California.
“I love when my students are like, ‘Miss Kowal, I couldn’t do my homework because I had sports practice,’” she says with a quip. “I’m always like, ‘Oh, sweetie, Miss Kowal swam for six hours a day and still did her homework.’”
Passing the Baton
It was towards the end of her swimming career that Kowal crossed paths with Chris DeJong, the competitive swimmer who would go on to found Big Blue Swim School. Kowal, her brother and her sister-in-law decided that they wanted to start a family business, and when an industry contact introduced them to Big Blue, it seemed like a natural fit.
“Meeting with him to discuss [Big Blue ownership] felt like coming full circle,” Kowal says. “I’m now entering into this family business, and it’s crossing over with my swim life.”
Ownership of a swim school combines Kowal’s passions for swimming and for teaching, something she is very excited about as the school takes in prospective students.
“We want these swimmers to have confidence in the water, and to feel joy as they progress and achieve their goals,” Kowal says. “I want every swimmer to come out having a great time, first of all, but also becoming a confident, happy swimmer.”
