Gabriel Grafstein '24 Recruiting Profile

When I started swimming as a sophomore in high school we were just coming out of the pandemic. I noticed I was naturally built for swimming, long and lean. This became apparent when after a few days in the pool, I was one of the first ones to finish drills. People started asking me “how do you swim like that?” When I got home that day, I started asking myself, how did I do it. That night, I came up with a list of all the things I did when swimming. From that day on, I always have an answer for my teammates for when they ask for tips or questions. As a result of their newfound knowledge, my teammates began to get faster, and in order to continue playing the role of mentor, I got further motivation to become the fastest one on my team. For example, this morning, Remy, one of the faster guys on varsity, got the opportunity to swim in my leg of the “A” relay team. He was very nervous and asked me how he could shave some time off. I asked him if he knew how to relay dive. He looked at me with a puzzled expression and told me he didn't. I then showed him the individual steps of the relay dive and when my friend, Noam, finished his leg of the relay, Remy executed a perfect dive. I was really proud of him and helped him refine some of the smaller but important movements by demonstrating it and physically moving his body through the steps. When I saw Remy leap off the diving block the instant Noam’s hand touched the wall, I felt like a father who taught his son to ride a bike and that child went on to become a stunt biker for Red Bull. I realized that helping people get better at what they do helps me find the motivation to reach my fullest potential. Watching my abilities and those of my teammates’ soar, I was inspired to help my classmates in other areas of my life.