Adam Mahler, shown here celebrating a record-breaking gold medal win in the 2019 District 2 Championships with Holy Redeemer, heads to the national stage this week at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis.
Fred Adams file photo | For Times Leader
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Heading into the week, Adam Mahler said that he’s trying to keep his excitement and his emotions tempered.
Admittedly though, it’s not the easiest thing to pull off when you’re just a few short days away from swimming in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Mahler, a Holy Redeemer graduate who won a state championship with the Royals, will be one of many American swimmers vying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic swim team as the Trials get underway from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“When you walk out onto the deck and see the competition pool, you see it all. … It’s really hard not to be super excited,” Mahler said. “It’s a really exciting opportunity.”
Mahler, who just wrapped up his final collegiate season at Pitt, will swim in the preliminary heats of the 200 Butterfly starting on Tuesday morning.
A potential semifinal appearance would follow later Tuesday evening, with the 200 Fly finals scheduled for Wednesday.
Mahler isn’t looking ahead, focusing solely on the task at hand as he gets set for the prelims.
“I’m just trying to handle it one race at a time.”
A Nuangola native, Mahler made history in 2018 as the first Holy Redeemer boys swimmer to win a state championship, racing his way to a PIAA Class 2A gold in the 100 Fly.
From there, he made his way to the collegiate ranks — first at East Carolina, eventually making his way to Pitt. This past season, his final one, he competed at the ACC Championships in both the 100 and 200 Fly, finishing in ninth place in the 200 Fly.
He’s worked through injuries, he’s put in countless hours of time and energy in the pool, and now Mahler is staring at an Olympic-sized opportunity as he takes on the Trials.
“It takes a lot, and you have to have the commitment and the dedication,” Mahler said. “You could get in the pool everyday, swim all the yardage but there really is a level of, you have to want it.”
After bouncing back from a knee injury last summer, Mahler set to work training through the fall and the winter in an effort to get his 200 Fly time down to qualification standards for the Olympic trials.
He got there just a few weeks ago, at a club meet in West Virginia.
“I was able to look up to the scoreboard and see that I had made it,” Mahler said. “It’s probably one of the most exciting moments of my career.”
Of course, showing up to Lucas Oil Stadium — the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts that’s been transformed this week into the home of the Olympic Trials — might register as a pretty exciting moment, as well.
Fortunately for Mahler, he won’t be the only Pitt Panther hitting the waters in Indy this week. He’ll be joined by two of his swimming teammates, Jerry Chen and Claire Jansen, along with divers Cameron Cash and Dylan Reed.
And Mahler’s also buoyed by the support system that’s had his back at every step through his swimming career, including his coaches, his friends and his family.
“The support has just been amazing,” Mahler said. “My parents have been in my corner this entire time, I’ve had friends from back home who supported me through a lot. … It’s really helped me.”
Mahler’s parents, Eric and Rose, will be right back in his corner this week — the Mahlers took the time to speak with the Times Leader while en route to Indianapolis to cheer on their son.
“Rose and I are super excited and just proud of him, too,” Eric Mahler said. “Whenever you get to see your child achieve his goals, it’s exciting to watch.”
Eric Mahler has gotten to watch Adam mature as both a swimmer and as a person through both the lenses of a parent and as a coach, taking that role with his son at various points through his career.
Not lost on Eric: the sheer amount of work his son has put in to get to where he is.
“All the hours that he logs and the effort, being able to do all that alongside going to college, and now going to law school,” Eric Mahler said. “It’s something to watch.”
Through both injuries and circumstances beyond his control — East Carolina cut its men’s swimming program while Adam was there, forcing him to transfer right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — both parents noted just how well Adam has rolled with the punches and overcome everything thrown his way.
“He’s the epitome of perseverance,” Rose Mahler said. “He’s overcome so much in his career, he’s always kept his head up and his eye on the ball.”
Mahler is expected to be in the pool around 11 a.m. on Tuesday to open the fourth day of the eight-day Olympic Trials.
His 200 Fly prelims will be the first event of the day. The evening session featuring the 200 Fly semis will begin at 8 p.m., according to the USA Swimming website.
Mahler’s not only ready to represent Northeastern Pennsylvania with pride, but he expressed his belief that more swimmers from the area could follow in his footsteps.
“It is possible to do these things, this isn’t just a one-off from the community,” he said. “Anyone who sets their mind to it can do it.”