For three years, Del Norte’s Jacob Chu has been the dominant swimming sprinter in the San Diego Section.
“As a freshman, I wasn’t very good in the 50 free,” itted the senior who captured his third consecutive championship, posting a 21.05 second time — just behind the 21.03 he clocked the year before.
Although Chu headed off to the state championships in hopes of cracking the 21-second barrier, that was not meant to be. It took a 20.97 to make the final 18 and his 21.13 was only good for 21st.
Disappointed? Sure. Devastated? Not really.
Unlike virtually everyone else in the pool at Clovis West High School, Chu’s race would be the final one of his career.
Obviously, no more high school but also no more club meets or those grueling workouts.
“Oh, I will probably swim to stay in shape, but I’m done swimming competitively,” said Chu, who has dedicated a decade of his life to racing on the water. “I’ll fill the practice time I’d devote to swimming to exploring some of the ions I’ve missed because of swimming.
“There were times when my friends would want me to them to do something and I’d have to miss out because I’d have to be at practice the next morning.
“Now I can relax. I wanted to get under 21 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, but it wasn’t meant to be. Just getting my hands to the wall first meant a lot to me.”
It happened a lot. In fact, after his freshman year, he can’t recall losing a 50-yard race in high school, except for the state meet which is considered the most competitive in the nation.
But in the section, he was unstoppable.
Chu won the event as a sophomore in 21.14, improved to 21.03 as a junior and three-peated this season in 21.05.
According to the section record book, no boy has captured four straight 50 freestyle races and he s only Rancho Bernardo’s Tin Huyn (2014-16), Torrey Pines’ Ryan Karlson (2000-02) and Scripps Ranch’s Ashlin Wilbun (1996-98) to triple.
“Actually, Jacob doesn’t really have a weakness in the 50 free,” said coach Wesley McCord. “He gets off the blocks fast, he’s logistical in the water and he has a super kick. He gets out in front and stays out in front and he actually creates a wake behind him.
“I consider his just making the state meet a major accomplishment. You have to understand that there were 39 swimmers in California between 20.25 and 21.23 coming into the meet. All 18 finalists broke 21 seconds.
“The thing is, Jacob is really down to earth. He’s always encouraging his teammates.”
Although it might seem like swimmers in the short sprint just put their head down and go, not Chu. His race is well thought-out.
“A lot depends on how I feel on the blocks,” said the 5-foot-7, 162-pounder. “If I’m locked in the zone, I’ll be relaxed. I don’t take a breath and I want to get back on top of the water as fast as I can after the turn, taking two or three dolphin kicks. I can feel where the others are more than seeing them. Then I just try to push it into the wall.
“Actually, I’m better in the 50-meter freestyle, probably because there is no turn. But I like high school swimming more than club because you get to meet so many more people. I think the meet I liked the best was the 2022 Junior Nationals in Austin, Texas. I didn’t swim that well, but it was so fun to see some of the fastest swimmers in the world.”
Although he isn’t swimming, he plans to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics, but he won’t study the events like he might have done if he were still competing.
“This summer I’m going to coach the little kids on the Pacific Swim team,” said Chu. “That sounds like so much fun. My dad (Allen) is a swim official and I’ve been to novice meets and watched the young kids compete.”
Chu plans to major in marine biology at UC San Diego and in a way, it’ll be just like going home.
“My mom (Caitlin Chu) works in the ing department at UCSD, so I’ve been on that campus a lot,” he said.
Not even tempted to swim?
“Not right now,” he said firmly.
