When Tyler Christianson was a kid, his parents tossed him into a pool to teach him how to swim — a skill neither of them has mastered. Little did they know a future Olympian would surface.
"It was really difficult for both of them to go through life and realize they were missing out on a lot with the absence of that skill," said Christianson, a sophomore at Notre Dame.
Although Christianson's mother is from Panama — the isthmus that links Central and South America — she never learned to swim. His father learned to keep afloat out of necessity during his U.S. military training.
"They wanted their kid to know how to swim and make sure I would survive if anything ever happened to me."
For Christianson, learning how to swim wasn't steeped only in survival. When he was young, he noticed many of his friends swam at community pools during the summer in his hometown of Easton, Maryland. He wanted to join his peers, and his parents wanted him to enjoy those experiences, too. Shortly after, he began swimming lessons.
"That's just kind of how it happened," Christianson said. "I met some kids at lessons and then they're like, 'Oh yeah, you should do competitive swimming.' So then it was competitive swimming in the winter, then it's year-round and then it just continued to escalate."
Tyler Christianson has made a splash in his sport since getting in the water. (Photo courtesy of Tyler Christianson)
That escalation in swimming never stopped. Although he is early in his collegiate career, Christianson is already making a splash in his sport.
At this year's NCAA championships, he finished 24th in the 200-yard breaststroke and 42nd in the 200 individual medley.
Now Christianson is swimming for Panama in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, competing in the 200-meter breaststroke today and 200 IM beginning Wednesday. But at one point, he did not think competing for Panama could become a reality.
When he was about 15, Christianson's mom began reaching out to Panama to investigate the possibility of her son swimming for Panama. Panama responded with interest. Still, it all seemed out of reach for the teenager until he decided one day to take that next step: declaring dual citizenship at the Embassy of Panama in Washington, D.C.
From then on, Christianson was all-in on Panama, swimming for the Central American nation in international competitions and now the Olympics.
"I may not speak the language well, but I do love the country a whole lot," Christianson said. "I have family there, and I've been there so many times. So I love to represent the whole people."
Christianson's Notre Dame head swim coach, Mike Litzinger, will serve as a coach for the Panamanian Olympic swim team. When asked about how he feels going to Tokyo with his collegiate coach, Christianson takes comfort in their existing dynamic and Litzinger's experience.
Christianson's Notre Dame swim coach, Mike Litzinger, also will coach him for Panama in Tokyo. (Photo courtesy of Tyler Christianson)
"He's been on the world stage before — to the Olympics as a coach. He knows what it's like to be in that position."
A position on the Olympic stage may be new for Christianson, but it's always been on his mind.
He vividly remembers watching the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when Michael Phelps won eight gold medals. Phelps' raw athleticism impressed Christianson, but how Phelps represented the U.S. made an even greater impression.
"When I looked at (Phelps) and all the swimmers there, they have such pride for their country. I really kind of just wanted to be in that position," Christianson said. "I want to be the guy to chase down the guy in front of me and, you know, be a hero for my country."
Christianson uncovered a related surprise not long ago. Tucked away in his belongings was a completed assignment commonly tasked to elementary school students. The assignment was to write what you want to be when you grow up. He remembered some classmates wrote "professional football player," others "police officer."
But on his sheet was only one word: "Olympian."
"Dreams really do happen," Christianson said. "I'm just so grateful to God that this happened for me."
