The Five Mentally Toughest American Elite Swimmers in History

No matter what level swimmers reach, if they consistently do their best when it counts, then they are mentally tough and champions.

This is a tough list to compose. There are probably 50 or more good candidates for the top five spots, but this is my list.

My recollection and knowledge of elite swimmers dates back to 1966, so any swimmers from before that era were not considered and may well deserve a spot on this list.

I can think of a few who might, like Jeff Farrell, who made the Olympic team in 1960 just six days after having an acute appendicitis - and one day after leaving the hospital.

Eddie Reese, men’s coach at University of Texas, and the most successful Division I coach in history, used to grade (from 1-10) all of his swimmers on mental toughness, using what he called The Killer Instinct Scale.

It would take Eddie until the conference or NCAA Championship meet of their freshman year to determine each swimmer’s first grade (I don’t think he actually gave it to them, but he then had an idea of what it was).