Jan. 5, 2015
Katie Saloky is a sophomore from Bloomsburg, Pa., who began swimming the breast stroke as a kid but soon realized that freestyle was her specialty. The second year swimmer took part in the Big Ten Championships as a freshman and is looking forward to another solid postseason performance in 2015. She credits her family's love and support as a big contributor to her success in the pool and as a Division I student-athlete.
Q: What is your earliest memory in a swimming pool?
A: "I first started swimming when I was six years old at a community pool in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. When I first started I was so bad at breast stroke that my coach wouldn't let me swim it at meets even though I really wanted to because all of my friends swam it and I thought it was the cool thing to do."
Q: What has been your best memory thus far as a Penn State swimmer?
A: "My best memory is probably being on the relay team at Big Ten's (in 2014). I was on the 200-freestyle relay and the atmosphere was just amazing."
Q: What is the best part about being a Penn State student-athlete?
A: "The best part about being a Penn State student-athlete is the support that we have here, whether it happens to be coaches, professors or past alumni, everyone is always supporting the athletes and giving us everything that we need to succeed."
Q: Would you show us and then explain to us something that is important to you outside of the pool?
A: "I brought a picture of my family and they are really important to me because they have just supported me from the beginning. I have a brother Paul and a sister Kriston who are both older than me. My sister is nine years older and my brother is six years older than me and they have just all supported me with swimming and academics, and have just always helped me along the way."
Saloky and her teammates are currently on their annual training trip in Naples, Fla., but are looking forward to returning to State College to finish the 2014-15 season strong. Follow the team and it's progress in the Sunshine State by going to Penn State Swimming and Diving's official Facebook photo stream at: http://on.fb.me/1DaxLnq
Video on SnappyTV: http://snpy.tv/1vTimz5