In 2018-19, the University of Louisville women’s swimming and diving team recorded its highest finish at the NCAA championships in program history, finishing fourth overall with 235 points. Assistant coach Kameron Chastain, a Seymour native, holds the trophy. Now Chastain is at Notre Dame still coaching.
Tribune File Photo
Kameron Chastain, left, and Chris Lindauer have coached together for the past seven years at the University of Louisville. Lindauer was named swimming and diving head coach at the University of Notre Dame in 2022, and he chose Chastain as one of his associate coaches.
Tribune File Photo
Starting on Saturday, the eyes of the swimming world will be on Indianapolis when the U.S. Olympic Trials are staged at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Nearly 800 swimmers will compete for 52 spots as the U.S. men’s and women’s teams are formed for the Summer Olympics, which begin in Paris on July 26.
In the middle of the action in Indianapolis will be former Seymour swimmer Kameron Chastain.
The 2010 SHS graduate is currently an assistant swim coach at the University of Notre Dame and is training a contingent of eight Irish swimmers who will make a hopeful trip south to Indy.
“It’s a really talented group,” Chastain said. “They’re cool-headed and ready to go.”
For the first time ever, the nine-day U.S. Olympic Trials will be held in a football stadium. Temporarily transformed into the world’s largest natatorium, complete with a 50-meter competition pool and two warm-up pools, Lucas Oil Stadium’s capacity for the event is 30,000 fans.
For perspective, the IU Natatorium, which last hosted the trials in 2000, seats 4,700. The swim venue in Omaha, Neb., which staged the last four Olympic trials, holds 12,000 spectators.
Chastain competed in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events at the 2012 trials in Omaha and said the experience was unforgettable.
“Overwhelming is the word I would use, especially for a first-time participant,” Chastain said. “It’s one of the coolest things our sport does. Besides the Olympic games, I’d argue this is probably the biggest meet in the world in terms of preparation and pressure.”
Among the Notre Dame contingent, Chastain said Chris Guiliano has the best chance to qualify for the Olympic team.
The Irish junior recorded the second-fastest 100-meter freestyle time in the world so far this year when he swam a 47.49 at the Atlantic Coast Conference’s long-course time trials invitational in February. Only world record holder Pan Zhanle of China recorded a faster time this year.
Guiliano, the ACC’s men’s swimmer of the year, enters the U.S. Olympic Trials seeded second behind Cal Berkeley’s Jack Alexy, who clocked a faster time last year in the World Aquatics Championship.
Joining Guiliano from ND’s men’s team are Tommy Janton (100 and 200 back), Sean Faikish (200 breast, 200 and 400 IM), Marcus Gentry (200 fly, 100 and 200 back), Tanner Filion (100 fly, 100 back), Luke Logue (100 back) and Cason Wilburn (100 fly). The Irish women’s team will send Maggie Graves (1500 free).
Chastain said he thinks his group’s role in rebuilding ND’s program will help at the trials. In the last three years at the annual NCAA Swimming Championships, the ND men’s team has improved from 30th in 2022 to 18th in 2023 to 10th this year.
“To be honest, two years ago our program didn’t deserve to be talked about,” Chastain said. “But these guys had a mission to find a way to be a Top 10 team. They acted like they belonged. They took care of what they had to, like it was a business trip. I don’t expect them to handle this meet any differently.”
Chastain said the key for his swimmers at the trials is to lean on their preparation.
“It’s really easy to go to this meet and be overwhelmed with the size of the pool, the venue, all of the nice amenities they put in front of you,” Chastain said. “Take it all in, for sure. But then be on a mission and have a plan. At the end of the day, we train in a 50-meter pool here in South Bend just like the 50-meter pool in Indianapolis. Just go and execute your race. Do the things that you train to do.”
Chastain still holds three individual and two relay records at Seymour. After high school, he swam at the University of Louisville from 2010-2014, captaining the team during his junior and senior seasons.
An All-American in the 100 breaststroke as a college senior, Chastain stayed on at Louisville as an assistant coach for eight years. In 2022, he followed then-Louisville head coach Chris Lindauer after he was hired to revitalize Notre Dame’s program.
As a swimmer, Chastain said he was thrilled to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Now, as a coach, he said he detects a more business-like mindset in his ND swimmers as they prepare for next week.
“Twelve years ago, I was looking forward to just being a part of it,” he said. “These guys are looking forward to being there but also doing something with it. It’s a pleasant surprise to be able to work with guys like that.”