TAMPA, Fla. – Santiago Corredor’s resume has been filled with success since he started competitive swimming.
That has led him to be one of the top performers on the University of Tampa Spartans swim team since transferring to the Division II school in the fall of 2021, after stints at Florida and Florida State.
As a senior this season, he has added a gold medal in the men’s 500-yard Free in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) championships last month, making another major contribution to the team’s back-to-back conference titles.
After entering college, Corredor experienced a hard period during COVID-19 — he was forced out of the pool for seven months, and he had never been out for more than a month since he was eight.
It was was a major blow.
“I’d been training a year and a half for the Olympics — that went down the drain,” he said, poolside, after a sun-drenched morning practice earlier this. month. “I was a week out from going to Argentina for my first qualifier meet and we got the news (in March of 2020).
“It’s a reality hit.”
Asked about the secret of always being in the best shape and condition to compete at the highest level, Corredor said it was all about sacrificing, including his academic, friend, and family time.
“It really comes down to making that your priority,” he said. “You could literally put down a line, and every decision you make is either on the bad side of the line, or on the good side of the line, for that goal.”
Assistant coach Phil Murray said a key for the young swimmer is knowing how to take care of himself inside, and outside, of the pool.
“There’s nothing that ever rattles him. It’s great leadership because he’s able to show everyone else how to approach that mental aspect as well.”
Corredor enjoys the feeling of seeing his hard work pay off, and always thinks he could do better. He says he feels humbled to be surrounded by people who have been supporting him, including his teammates, and coaches.
The back-to-back SSC Swimming Championship Swimmer of the Meet was well-trained in the pool from an early age, something he credits his parents for.
“I had come from years and years of discipline and in both my parents being on top of it and helping me be very disciplined, with getting morning practice and stuff like that when I was 15 (and started serious training).”
That helped Corredor to become a self-critical swimmer.
“I’ve been blessed to have worked so hard in my early years to when I could just reap the reward and maintain that level,” he said.