Brooklyn Douthwright’s grandfather owned a pool business in Canada, and she grew up swimming in a pool in her backyard. She naturally fell in love with the water and the peace of mind it provided.
Douthwright started in synchronized swimming (now artistic swimming), but soon realized she liked the part where they swam laps during warmups more than the synchronized performance portion. She joined the local race swim team instead and found her true calling.
Douthwright experienced the pinnacle of the sport this summer by competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The senior biomedical engineering major was a member of Canada’s 4×100 freestyle relay team that finished fourth overall. Douthwright swam in the prelims for the Canadians.
“It was so surreal. It was something that I’ve been dreaming of since I started swimming when I was 9. So, to have it finally all come together was nothing short of amazing,” Douthwright said. “Being with everybody in that environment, being a part of that, was something I’m so proud of and so grateful for that opportunity.”
Douthwright is a seven-time All-American for the Lady Vols. She’s an SEC champion in the 200 free and 400 medley free and was runner-up in the 200 free at the 2023 NCAA Championships.
Douthwright has done it all while balancing a challenging academic load as a pre-med student with a goal of attending medical school once she completes her engineering studies at UT.
“I think it’s pushed me. I’ve had to learn so many things, especially time management with swimming and everything,” Douthwright said. “But I really love studying biomedical engineering because I’ve always enjoyed physics, math, and biology. I’m getting more into the innovation part of it, which I really like.”
Pushing the Limits
Douthwright has always challenged herself to go beyond what many think is possible. In 2015 at age 12, she became the youngest person to ever swim the Northumberland Strait (a 15-kilometer span of open water between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island).
When she was being recruited to UT, Douthwright saw an opportunity to expand her horizons and be surrounded by people who would maximize her potential in the pool and in the classroom.
“Coming from Canada, nobody had really gone through the recruiting process. I didn’t have anybody to talk to about it,” she said. “I spoke with a lot of schools, but the coaches at Tennessee just really stood out as people that cared about me as a person, more than just an athlete. I also meshed with the team culture, and just loved all of the ideas that they presented.”
Although Douthwright hasn’t been able to pursue any research opportunities at UT because of her busy schedule, she has found other ways to supplement the hands-on experience.
“The professors have done a great job incorporating stuff into classes,” she said. “Like in my coding class, there was little robot that you work with a team to do. A bunch of the team projects have started me on that road of thinking in that way and trying to apply some of the things we’re learning.”
Douthwright plans to remain an engineering student at UT for five years while training for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. After she arrived back from Paris, she had the Olympic rings tattooed on her arm to commemorate her debut in the Games. Her classmates have taken notice, even if they may not have realized the significance.
“Some people just think that I’m a huge fan and just love the Olympics. It has started some interesting conversations,” she said with a laugh. “But the tattoo definitely helps people kind of recognize that I swam in Paris.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)