Ivy Martin
Ivy Martin was born on July 20, 1993 in Madison, Wisconsin to parents Tom and Connie Martin. She is the middle child between her two sisters Ruby (older) and Maddie (younger). All three girls are talented swimmers, particularly in the sprint events.
Personal and Youth Swimming
Martin started her career at the Madison East YMCA when she was just 6 years old. At age 9, Martin moved to the Badger Aquatics Club, headed by Coach Drew Walden. Martin attended Madison East High School where she swam for four years under head coach Matt Matteson. She raced the 50 and 100-yard freestyles often, and in her junior year, Martin won the state title in the 50-yard freestyle with a 23.55. Her senior year she won the event as well, this time with a 23.22.
College Swimming
When deciding on college, Martin decided to stay close-to-home and attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she would join her older sister Ruby for two years of training and competing together. At Wisconsin, Martin studied Psychology and Sociology. Going into Wisconsin, Martin’s best time in the 50-yard freestyle was a 23.10. In her first collegiate season, Martin dropped to a 22.6, which got her third-place at the Big Ten Championships. Her best 100-yard freestyle time going in was a 51.18, and she dropped significant time in that event as well earning a 17th place at the Big Ten Championships. Her sophomore year, Martin made an even bigger jump in improvement. Martin won the 2013 Big Ten Championships with a Big Ten and school record of 21.84. Martin was the second woman in conference history to swim faster than 22.0. She also finished 12th place in the 100-yard freestyle with a 49.45. Qualifying for the NCAA Championships individually, Martin earned herself a sixth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, competed in the 100-yard freestyle, and was a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the 200-yard medley relay, and the 400-yard medley relay. Martin was named a five-time NCAA All-American and the 2013 Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club Sportswoman of the Year.
In Martin’s junior year, she continued to excel. Throughout the season she earned three Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors. At the Big Ten Championships she won a pair of Big Ten titles in the 50-yard freestyle (21.68) and the 100-yard freestyle (47.78). Martin was also Big Ten Swimmer of the Meet. She went on to the NCAA Championships where she finished fourth in the 50-yard free (21.79), sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:27.97), and eighth in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:14.90). Martin finished the season with two school records in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles and with Academic All-Big Ten honors and CSCAA First Team Scholar All-American honors.
Martin has continued to perform at a high level throughout her senior year at Wisconsin. She posted a 21.89 50-yard freestyle at the University of Texas Invitational. At the 2015 NCAA Championships Martin finished in second behind Stanford’s Simone Manuel in the 50-yard freestyle, and finished just .01 seconds in front of Louisville’s Kelsi Worrell. She also made it into the top-eight of the 100-yard freestyle, finishing fourth overall. After she finished her collegiate career Martin was an 16-time NCAA All-American, and she was named Wisconsin’s Female Athlete of the Year.
National Swimming
Martin qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. in the 50-meter freestyle. Martin’s 25.90 got her 35th at the competition. In summer 2013 Martin qualified to compete at the World Championship Trials in Indianapolis. Martin finished in seventh-place in her 50-meter freestyle with a time of 25.20. A couple of months later, Martin won gold at the 2013 US Open in the 50-meter freestyle with a 25.11.
At the 2014 Phillips 66 Nationals Martin finished fourth in the 50-meter butterfly and second in the 50-meter freestyle. Her second-place freestyle finish earned Martin a spot on her first U.S. National Team and placed her on her first international roster at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in Australia. She finished seventh in the 50-meter freestyle at Pan-Pacs.
Professional career
In 2015 Martin signed with A3 Performance, which was the suit of choice for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With all of her success in her collegiate career, Martin chose to stay with her college coach in Madison, Whitney Hite. A3 will suit Martin up going into Rio 2016 — a company that Martin says she both trusts and feels comfortable in.
One of her first competitions as a professional swimmer was at the Santa Clara Pro Series in June 2015. She made it into the ‘A’ final of the 50-meter freestyle rounding out a hugely competitive group.
-Originally Developed by Elle Meinholz
