True Sweetser is a competitive swimmer who represents the USA internationally. At 19 years old, he qualified for his first World Championships after taking the National title in the 1,500 meter freestyle. The youngest of six chose to swim at Stanford, after four out of five older siblings swam collegiately at an Ivy League School. His older brother Luke swam for Harvard while Seth, Marisa and Christian all swam for Cornell.
Sweetser began his career at Central Florida Marlins before joining Gator swim club when he was 15. A year later he was placed on the Junior National Team, and a year after that he was named to the Senior National Team.
Stanford University
2016-2017
Sweetser made an immediate impact as a Cardinal, helping the team to win the Pac-12 Championships. He earned maximum points in the 1,650 yard freestyle, taking gold in 14:35.93. He also picked up points in the 500 yard freestyle with a silver medal in 4:14.11. However, at his first NCAA Championships, Sweetser was disappointed with a 12th place finish in the 1,650 yard freestyle after being seeded 5th and adding 5 seconds onto his time from the conference meet. He also finished 16th in the 500 yard freestyle, again adding time.
2017-2018
Sweetser once again scored points for the cardinals at both major championship meets. AT the PAC-12 Champs, True placed 7th in the 1,650 (15:01.29) and 16th in the 500 (4:24.57). At the 2018 NCAA’s, Sweetser scored in the 1,650, placing 8th with a time of 14:40.48, netting him All-American status. He also placed 21st in the 500 free (4:16.38).
2018-2019
Sweetser was a 3-event scorer at the 2019 PAC-12 Champs for the cardinal, placing 11th in the 500 free (4:17.50), 14th in the 400 IM (3:50.21), and 4th in the 1,650 (14:49.41). At NCAA’s, Sweetser once again earned an All-American title in the 1,650, placing 7th with a time of 14:39.07. He also placed 31st in the 500 (4:17.12).
International Career
Sweetser made his international debut at the 2016 FINA World Short Course Championships. He made the final in the 1,500 meter freestyle, finishing 6th in 14:35.51.
At the 2017 U.S. Nationals, Sweetser claimed his first senior national title in the 1,500 meter freestyle to earn a spot on the World Championship team. He took the race out steady, and with 300 meters left to go he sat in fourth place. But that is when he turned the burners on, going sub 30 for the remainder of the 50 meter splits. He moved up to first place with 200 meters left to go and continued to pull away from the field to take gold in 14:59.73.
2019 Pan American Games
After qualifying for the 2019 Pan Ams the year before, Sweetser won his 1st major international medal in Lima, touching for 2nd in the 1,500 in a time of 15:14.24.
