Livermore, CA (January 6, 2020) FINIS, Inc., the worldwide leader in technical swimming innovation, is proud to announce the signing of three-time NCAA champion, Katie McLaughlin. The California native and recent graduate from Cal said on joining #TeamFINIS,

“I’m so excited to partner with FINIS. FINIS is innovative, fun, and loves the water as much as I do.”

McLaughlin began swimming at age 9 for the Mission Viejo Nadadores in Southern California. She comes from a family of high caliber athletes; her mother, also a swimmer, competed for USC in Katie’s specialties, fly and free, and her father played tight-end for Indiana State. She tried a lot of different sports when she was young, including soccer, volleyball and track and settled on swimming when it became her passion. 

McLaughlin was a natural at the sport and despite only being 14, qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials. She went on to be a top 10 recruit in the country for the class of 2015, ultimately, choosing to compete for the Cal Golden Bears and Head Coach Teri McKeever.

During her first semester of college she injured her neck while on a training trip in Hawaii. This took her out of competition until Cal’s conference meet, the PAC 12 Championships. Despite a rough start to her college career, she won a total of seven PAC 12 titles as a member of the 200, 400, and 800 freestyle relays and 400 medley relay. Individually, McLaughlin competed at NCAA Championships 3 out of her four years at Cal. During the 2016 NCAA Championships she earned 2nd place in the 200 fly. As a senior, McLaughlin swam on 3 NCAA record setting, gold medal winning relays at the NCAA championships. 

Through her ups and downs in swimming, Katie learned that swimming, like life, doesn’t happen in a straight line. 

“I feel like I’ve just been able to figure it out a little bit more, if that makes sense—figure it out training-wise or what I need to do when I’m faced with a conflict or if something doesn’t go my way, not beat myself up over it but learn how I need to recover from that. Just learning how to treat myself and the people around me and my body and everything.”

Her National and International swimming accomplishments include medaling at the 2013 Junior Worlds, 2014 Pan Pacs, 2015 Worlds, 2016 Olympic Trials, 2017 and 2018 U.S. Nationals, 2017 and 2019 World Championships. Most recently she was a member of the ISL LA Current team with Head Coach Lenny Krayzelburg.

Despite having such an accomplished swimming record, she doesn’t feel the need to put pressure on herself to perform. McLaughlin said she swims best when she’s, “just enjoying it and racing to race.” She stays down to earth even during the toughest of training by taking a step back and reminding herself, “how lucky [she is] to have had this experience.” 

“Katie is an excellent addition to our team of athletes” said CEO and cofounder John Mix. “Her talent and dedication are what take an athlete from good to great.”

Learn more about Katie >

About FINIS, Inc.

John Mix and Olympic gold medal swimmer Pablo Morales founded FINIS in Northern California in 1993 with a mission to simplify swimming for athletes, coaches, beginners and lifelong swimmers around the world. Today, FINIS fulfills that mission through innovation, high-quality products and a commitment to education. FINIS products are currently available in over 80 countries. With a focus on innovation and the fine details of swimming, FINIS will continue to develop products that help more people enjoy the water.

FINIS PRESS CONTACT:
Kyle Coan
Phone:925.290.2637
Email: kcoan@FINISinc.com

KATIE MCLAUGHLIN PRESS CONTACT:
Heather Novickis
heather@humaninterestgroup.org
303.517.0625