Olympic and World Championship medalist Katie Meili has joined the Georgetown University Swimming and Diving staff as an assistant coach, head coach Jack Leavitt announced on Thursday. Meili, who announced earlier this summer that she would be attending Georgetown Law School in the fall, is coming off a highly successful last-12-months, having earned Olympic gold (4×100m medley relay) and bronze (100m breast) in Rio last summer, and gold (4×100m medley relay), silver (100m breast) and bronze (50m breast) this summer at FINA World Championships in Budapest.
“We’re thrilled to add such an impressive person as Katie to our staff,” Leavitt said. “Our team will benefit greatly from her presence, not only from her experience at the Olympic and world championships levels but her college experience at Columbia is very similar to what our team lives day in and day out. It’s inspiring to see what she accomplished and continues to accomplish as a student and a swimmer.”
Meili swam for Columbia University and was twice named Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet at Ivy League Championships (2012 and 2013). She is a two-time All-American and ten-time Ivy League champion. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Georgetown swim team during my time at Georgetown Law,” Meili said. “I am grateful to Coach Leavitt and (Assistant) Coach Laura McGlaughlin for allowing me to get involved with the program and I am eager to both learn from and share knowledge with this incredible group of student-athletes.”
Wow. Talk about setting yourself up for success long-term. Way to go- lots of respect
Not a tough call. I bet on Katie Meili to succeed.
She is most likely just listed as a volunteer so that she can train with the team. May college teams have post grads listed as volunteers as a form of defense to the rules limiting pros from training with NCAA amateurs.
I wonder if she will be getting free tuition in exchange for her coaching??
I wonder if she’s swimming at all…besides for exercise. Has there been any word on her status competitively post worlds?
She’s not retiring. And the way she swam in Budapest, I’m glad she’s not! Plenty of great club options in the D.C. area. Multiple NCAP sites, Machine, and many others.
$53k a year? That would be a nice first coaching gig.
Considering she’s being called a volunteer assistant as opposed to a grad assistant, I highly doubt it.
I wonder who she will do her training with. NCAP??
Georgetown has had a lot of coaches over the years who were formerly Princeton swimmers.
I think she’s underestimating how much time commitment it is going to take for her to be a 1L.
Maybe she won’t take a full course load?
While Georgetown has a part time program, generally for law school you can’t take less than a full course load your first year because you miss out on required classes that you have to take before taking anything else. These classes are only offered in either the fall or spring semester, so she would have to wait an entire year to make them up. Georgetown’s part time program is only offered at night, and you generally can’t transfer between the full and part time programs, so I doubt she’s pursuing that option.
I think she has a good handle on academics, and I bet she has a bit more focus than you.
Not sure what I have to do with things. I’m only commenting because I have a number of friends, several of whom were top D1 athletes who took a tough course load, who breezed through undergrad but still commented that the first year of Law school was a whole other level from what they were used to.
I am one of the athletes you mention and I concur. While I was able to find an hour or two a day to work out during my first year of law school, it served as a stress relief, not a training obligation, for me. I didn’t have to worry about how fast I was going, and if I had to study, I could shorten my swim. Training for elite competition is much more stressful and combining that with coaching, 1L studying, and commuting time, since the law campus isn’t near the pool, seems like a lot. I wish her the best and hopefully she’s successful!
I am sure she is very smart, but a lot of smart people go to law school. The Georgetown law school campus is not close to Georgetown University (where the pool is), and the first year of law school is intense and requires a lot of focus (and hours and hours of reading). Adding coaching responsibilities sounds like a lot to take on. It’s doable, but will not be easy. I wish her the best though!
Wow, that’s a lot to take on. Good luck to her.