Maggie Gholston: a humble athlete with a competitive spirit. She is a multi-sport athlete here at Greenwood where she continues to improve her skills. Maggie has lots of plans for her future and she has great potential to fulfill them. She has stuck with two sports throughout her young life: soccer and swimming. Currently, Maggie has been playing for Greenwood Soccer for 3 years and is also a former player of SKY Soccer for 5 years.

Maggie began swimming when she was just 8 years old. She competes for Greenwood and RACE Aquatics. Maggie is an All American, Region record holder, High School State Runner-Up in the 50 and 100 free, and also State Champion in the 50 Free Long Course (RACE). The 50 free is Maggie’s best and favorite event, she said it is, “Simple, quick, and fun.” Recently, Maggie, along with a few of her teammates, traveled to Colorado to spend some time at the Olympic Training Center. In an interview, Maggie said, “It was a great experience because this is where many Olympic athletes have trained, and it was cool to spend a week in their shoes. This was a great insight into their lives and to see what it would be like if this was real, and I really did make it to the Olympics. OTC was an excellent time for team bonding too.”

The love and talent surrounding this sport runs in the family. Maggie’s mother, Sarah Gholston, was a very accomplished swimmer as well. Mrs. Gholston swam for the University of Tennessee. She was so close to making the cut for the Olympics but came up short. It is a goal of Maggie’s to follow in her footsteps.

Maggie keeps her head high and in the right direction as she chooses what she wants to work toward. Maggie stated, “Currently, I am working hard to win High School State, and one of my long-term goals is to make it to the Olympics.” She is trying hard to hype the team up to get ready for these meets coming up soon.

Maggie is currently looking at colleges she would like to attend. These include Auburn, Louisville, and Texas which are currently ranked in the top 25 programs in the nation. Maggie also said, “I’m going to continue to work hard at practice and make sure that I stay focused and on the right path.” Maggie hopes to claim a spot in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. At the moment, she is less than a second away from being an Olympic Qualifier in the 50 free. Although a second is a lot of time while concerning swim, Maggie’s work-ethic and persistence will help her along the way. 

Everyone is looking forward to seeing Maggie speed past her opponents at the upcoming Region and State swim meets. Region is being held in Owensboro on February 9-10, while State is in Louisville a few weeks later, on February 22-24.