Eastlake’s Brown wins second state breaststroke swim title

Justin Brown from Eastlake High School won his second WIAA state title on Feb. 21. After another long year of disciplined training, Brown managed to shave off more than a second from his time last season in the 100-yard men’s breaststroke finals. He finished in 56.27 seconds. 

Already having won the state title last year, Brown maintained a grueling routine throughout that required significant personal sacrifice to stay in shape. Brown balanced two different training programs, often training for three hours a day. He woke up at 4:30 a.m. every day during the winter season to practice with the Eastlake team at the Redmond pool. After school, he headed to late-night practices with the Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club. 

This double-duty schedule often forced Brown to sacrifice sleep and time with friends outside of school, leading to constant fatigue. However, he maintained a strict diet of chicken, beef and fish with rice to ensure his body could recover from the six hours of daily exertion. 

“I didn’t change much from last year, I kept my fitness up by following the same strict diet and sleeping well. Most of my changes were in my technique, I watched a lot of race footage and fine-tuned my technique,” Brown said. 

Brown said he fixed a few things to shave off time, including his reaction time at the blocks, his timing on the stroke, and holding his pullouts longer. Pullouts are where a swimmer performs one long arm pull and one kick to gain distance before surfacing. Brown chose to spend his time in the pool getting more comfortable with these smaller details so that when he stepped onto the competitive stage, nerves would not be an issue. 

He realized that his nervousness was causing him to rush and burn himself out within the first 50 yards of the race, leading his opponents to get the best of him in districts and prelims. To manage this out of the water, he developed a ritual of lying down in the hallway and listening to music. This habit helped him calm his mind and have faith in the months of training he had already completed. 

“Compared to last year’s interview [with the Sammamish Independent], I was more focused on what happens in the water rather than the things I do out of the water, besides rewatching race tapes, I made sure I was comfortable before entering the water,” Brown said. Brown also focused on his physical preparation before entering the building. He realized that without enough stretching and hydration before each race, he seemed to struggle more. 

He looked up to his brother, Connor Brown, who won a state title for Eastlake in the 500-yard freestyle in 2017 and currently swims for Cornell University. Justin Brown regularly consults Connor for advice on how to improve in terms of training times or meet preparation.  

“My brother is one of my biggest motivators, although I could not beat his time this year, he has helped me all throughout my swim career, whether it be technical or simply a pep talk he was always there for me,” Brown said. 

Just like how his brother was there for him, Brown wants to leave a legacy that encourages people to compete in swim. Since swimming is a complicated and time-consuming sport, he hopes to recruit more middle school students so they can get a proper start in their swimming careers. He regularly visits middle schools with his teammates to talk to students about the sprot. 

“I want people to have a community that seems more welcoming and a better understanding of the sport so other people can compete,” Brown said. 

Brown plans to attend Carnegie Mellon in the fall, where he has already committed to joining their swim team. He now has his sights on competing in the NCAA, participating in swim relays, and reaching new heights in his sport. 

“I want to go as far as possible. Collegiate swim is a step towards my dreams, and I want to take this opportunity to win NCAA,” Brown said.