A new record was set for Lakeland High School On Sep. 17 by Ethan Harrell. 

This is Harrell’s first year at Lakeland. He has grown to love the team and everything it has to offer. 

“My favorite part of swimming for Lakeland definitely has to be working with my teammates and coaches,” Harrell said.

Harrell participated in the 100-meter butterfly race, setting a new record of 1:02.37. However, Harrell’s coach clocked him in at 1:02.04. 

Although Harrell is proud of himself, racing to beat the record was no easy task. 

“It was absolutely miserable. Your lactic acid builds up in your shoulders to where you can’t move them all the way for a little while,” Harrell said. 

Harrell thinks that no matter the pain, the feeling of reward makes it all worth it. 

Getting to the point of reaching a record can be very hard. Harrell has been swimming from a very young age. 

“It was a requirement to learn how to swim when I was younger, and I started competition swim in third grade,” Harrell said. 

Harrell took a break from swimming from fifth grade to eighth grade. He started swimming again his freshman year. 

Harrell feels like this personal record can definitely be beaten. He believes that with hard work, he can get an even better time. 

This is just the start for Harrell. He is prepared to push himself to do even better. 

Harrell has goals to make it to state this year and place as well. 

“Personally, I know I could’ve done better, and I hope to continue to drop time in the future so I can place at state,” Harrell said. 

Swimming can be a very painful and harsh experience, but for some people, fighting that struggle seems worth it. 

“Although every single meet ad practice is painful, it’s always nice to push yourself to your absolute limits,” said Harrell. 

There are a lot of factors that go into being a successful swimmer. 

Swimmers have to be good at several factors in order to race with good times. 

“You have to keep a certain tempo, speed, and power, so it automatically makes it hard to breathe,” Harrell said.

However, this hard work pays off for other things besides swimming. 

Swimming gives athletes a better advantage over other sports they play. Essential things in swimming, like breath control, strength, and speed, can all help athletes perform better in other sports they play. 

“It’s a full body workout, and although it may look easy, I would say it’s one of the most difficult sports to be good at,” Harrell said. 

Harrell plans on breaking more records and dropping his time even more. He is excited to see how far he can go.