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Competitive swimmer Zaak Palmer hopes to break every swim record at NS.
“I am just a competitive person,” said Palmer.
On Nov. 14, 2023, Palmer broke his frst record, the 500 Freestyle.
Sixteen-year-old Palmer has been swimming competitively for seven years. He originally started on a club team, the UVRays.
“He started swimming lessons with Flo Mitchell just like all his brothers and sisters,” Palmer’s mother Katrina said.
She explained that when the pool in Mt. Pleasant opened, she was homeschooling Zaak and his brother and she bought a family pass to motivate her kids to gettheir work done. Then in March of that year the Mt.Pleasant Beta team was formed and she signed Zaak and his brother up immediately and that was the beginning of Zaak’s competitive journey.
Palmer practices about 10 hours a week through 2-hour practices every day. He trains occasionally with weights but focuses on getting a lot of yards in while throwing in some technique drills. He primarily trains with the club team as they are more intense with training and workouts, being that high school trains at about 4000 yards and club trains between 5000 and 6000 yards.
“High school is not the same level as club; high school is just easier to practice, club is always pushing me
hard,” Palmer said.
After putting this much work in, breaking a record is a big deal, and something that Palmer felt was time for.
“It felt like it was my turn; my brother did it, then Josh [Andersen] did it, and it was fnally my turn,” said
Palmer.
Palmer broke the 500 freestyle record with a 5:55.88 time. One coach loves coaching Palmer and loves seeing
what he can do.
“[Zaak] is a dream to coach,” swim coach Jo-Anne Riley said.
Palmer most enjoys swimming the 200 individual medley (IM); this race comprises four different strokes:
50 yards of butterfly, 50 yards of backstroke, 50 yards of breaststroke, and 50 yards of freestyle.
“I don’t like the 500 [freestyle] that much. I just did it because I thought I could get that record,” Palmer said.
“My favorite of the high school events is the 200 IM; if you were to throw in the club events, my best is the 200
breaststroke.”
Palmer is partially homeschooled, but that doesn’t mean that swimming is the only thing he is interested in.
“I think that it is because he is homeschooled,” Riley said. “He has knowledge on things that you just would
never ever think somebody would know.”
Palmer has a passion for history as well as swimming. He explained that he enjoys learning mostly about war
history and all the strategies used in past wars.
“He can share and is excited to share anything that he has learned,” said Riley. “He was going to do his 400
last night, and he was still talking to me about something that he’d learned in the 19th century. Did you know this
and that? I said, ‘You have one race to get in your lane; I think you should be thinking about your race. When you
get back, you can tell me.’”
Also, he currently has an art class that he enjoys.
“I do photography; I take mostly art classes [at NS],” said Palmer.
With all this in Palmer’s life, coaches and others hope for great things for him and know that he will continue to
do great things.
“What people don’t realize is that results come if you put in efort,” Riley said. “It doesn’t matter what you
spend your time on; you’re going to get results, and he really does. He applies himself. Most kids these days have
a hard time applying themselves.”
