Alex Meyer

Alex Meyer is an American open water swimmer who placed 10th in the 2012 London Olympics in the 10 km open water race.  Although Meyer has enjoyed great success in open water swimming, he was also an NCAA All-American in the pool, competing for Harvard University under Head Coach and 2012 Olympic Open Water Coach Tim Murphy.

At Harvard, Meyer was the team co-captain for the 2009-2010 season.  At the NCAA Championships in 2010, Meyer finished 14^th in the mile with the second fastest time in school history (14:58.13), along the way earning All-American status.  At the Ivy League Championships that year, he completed a sweep of the distance events, winning the 500, 1000, and 1650 freestyle races.  He was named first-team All Ivy for each of those races, and received the Phil Moriarty Award as the high point swimmer at the Ivy Championship meet.  In addition to the Moriarty Award, he received the Harold S. Ulen Award as the career high point swimmer at the Ivy League Championships.

Along with his pool success, some of Meyer’s greatest accomplishments have been in Open Water Swimming.  His first international meet was the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, where he competed in the 25 km race.  Although he was disqualified on a disputed call, he was motivated for the following year, where he won the gold medal in the 25 km at the 2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships.  After a year of more training, Meyer won the 2011 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships, earning him a place on the 2011 World Aquatics Championship team.  In China at the World Championships in 2011, Meyer finished fourth in the men’s 10km and became the first American to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

Currently Meyer is still training at Harvard University with Rio 2016 in his sights. One of Meyer’s favorite places to swim and relax with friends is Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts.