New Seasons: Dagny Knutson

Dagny Knutson: World Championship Gold and Silver medalist, former American Record Holder, and former US National team member.

I started competitive swimming at the age of 9 and quickly excelled. I liked swimming more than other team sports because I was in full control of my own effort and didn't have to rely on anyone else to score a goal or make a basket. I was my own team! Coming from a small town, and excelling as soon as I did, I was known as "the swimmer." Any time someone would ask me my name, they would say, "oh, you're the swimmer," and kindly I would reply with a simple "yes," and smile. 

I had dream of going to the Olympics when I was 8 years old, and after I started swimming, I tried my best to be the best. It all started with trying to beat the kids next to me on my own club team. During my high school years, I would be swimming and competing on a national and international level. It came with a price, however. Coming from a small town, I didn't have the resources or privilege of growing up with well-known large club team, or a club that provided financial backing toward trips, etc. I did most of my practices by myself with my coach, sometimes I would do practices from 8 - 10pm because that was the only time a pool might be open, and there were many extra hours my parents had to work to help me afford to go to national-level meets. It was a team effort my myself, my coaches, and my parents. Sometimes I was lonely in my own swimming world since I decided to give up a lot of high school activities to train long hours, but it was the price I was willing to pay. Every ounce of my entire being was working toward making it big from a small town. 

In a nut shell, my career came crashing down within a year and a half after graduating high school. I had put my career into the wrong people's hands at USA Swimming, and was caught in organizational politics, and unfortunately it was my career that suffered and no one else. During this time, I suffered severe binge eating and bulimia, going into intensive treatment programs twice in 2012. At the time there was so much out of my control that the only thing I could control was my emotional attachment to food and my body image. It was a coping mechanism that turned my world upside down. The one thing I loved to dearly, the sport that MADE me, was gone. 

In 2014, I filed a civil law suit toward the party that aided in the damage of swimming career, and It ended in a victorious win for me and my legal team. A law was also changed in California due to my case, and I hope that athlete rights are helped by my story. Although I feel vindicated, no amount of money is worth what I lost, or the leaps and bounds my support team had to make to help me achieve my dreams. 

Although my path in my career is different than most, I can say that the feelings and situations I've experience are similar to most. Feelings of a lost identity, low self-esteem, wanting to people-please, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, trust-issues, and the list goes on. I cannot tell you how tough it's been learning about myself without the sport of swimming, however the last few years have been filled with such growth! I don't think I've found my life's calling or anything, but each season teaches new things about myself and the path ahead, and it's been a blessing the entire journey! The struggle, the pain, the victories, the tears, and the memories....it was all worth it.