Although Emily McClellan was raised on a dairy farm in Delavan, Wisconsin, she dreamed of being in the Olympics!
“I had to do a project in elementary school,” said Emily McClellan, Olympic Hopeful
Professional Swimmer, “about what, what you wanted to be…our teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I had wrote down an Olympian.”
With a pool in the back yard, Emily and her sister Erin learned to swim at an early age. And while Emily enjoyed working on her family’s farm, she had other goals.
“I wanted to be a three sport athlete in high school,” said Emily, “and so in the fall I went out for the swim team.”
Emily is quick to credit her upbringing on the farm with giving her the work ethic and dedication to drive toward her goals.
“Growing up in the farm life,” said Emily, “and having chores would be definitely influential in my ability to train and work hard.”
“She set her mind to it,” said Tom McClellan, Dairy Farmer, McClellan Farms, “and uh, you know success breeds success– and so she’s doing that, she’s working hard at that.”
Emily’s high school swim coach saw her potential.
“She was fortunate to have a coach who swam Olympic trials,” said June McClellan, Dairy Farmer, McClellan Farms, “and recognized that she had some talent!”
After high school, she received an athletic scholarship for college and started training! Freshman year Emily qualified to compete at the NCAA championships but fell short.
“I swam and took dead last!” said Emily.
That moment is what inspired her to work harder to achieve her goals. Now swimming professionally, she qualified for the Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Now that she’s been professionally swimming,” said Erin McClellan, Emily’s Sister, “it’s been fun to kind of go to some of the bigger races and get to see her swim on bigger levels.”
The Trials took place June 27-30th and sadly Emily did not earn a spot on the Olympic team. She will continue to swim professionally!
