Athlete of the Month: Jacob Billy

When he was five years old in Thailand, Jacob Billy learned how to swim. It wasn’t until he was eight years old, however, that he actually took classes at the Hayward Plunge, where he continued the lessons until he was 11.

“When I entered high school, my buddy Alex encouraged me to participate in swimming. I’ve been swimming competitively since then,” said Billy.

During swim practices, the team swims for roughly 4,800-6,000 yards a day. Billy typically freestyles with the occasional butterfly. His usual events are the 50 free and 100 free for individual events, and for the team events, he swims the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay.

“Rest is not a word the swim team is familiar with,” stated Billy.

The swim team is either constantly swimming with fast intervals, or endurance-based exercises. Although it seems very tiring, it provides a lot of drive to push past physical and mental capabilities.

“In addition, it requires your whole body to cooperate in order to swim effectively,” says Billy. “It is a consistent challenge which I enjoy.”