Gold medals hang around Landon F.’s neck after the Woodrow Wilson High School senior added another chapter to the school’s swimming legacy.
Recently at the UIL State Swimming & Diving Championships, Landon came out on top for the 50 free and 100 fly, and was named 5A Male Athlete of the Meet. Yet his coach, Shelly Thibodaux and his fellow competitors will say the same thing: records matter, but so does the person behind them.
“Standing at the regional meet, I had all these kids behind me that were competitors of his, and I didn’t hear one negative thing,” Thibodaux said. “All I heard was ‘he’s such a good swimmer, he helps us at our meets, he’s a good guy.’ That made me have more respect for him.”
Since childhood, Landon was no stranger to the pool. Both of his parents swam for the University of Texas, and his introduction to the sport was a natural-fitting one, with his father as his first coach.
Still, he didn’t fully commit to swimming until high school. It was eighth grade that he started to get faster and realized where the sport could someday take him.
“It’s not about beating other people in practice, but giving it everything you would in the race in practice every day,” he said. “When you’re swimming fast and winning, your teammates see that and it motivates them to work harder.”
Over four years, Landon balanced a demanding training schedule of more than 20 hours a week in the pool, plus early-mornings and a rigorous academic load, finishing near the top of his graduating class.
Now, as he prepares to swim at the collegiate level, Landon’s advice to swimmers who are starting out is to stay consistent and trust the process.
“Representing Woodrow is important to me, there is a legacy of athletics here and it’s great to be part of that,” he said. “There are days you don’t want to go, but remembering what it feels like at the end of the season when you accomplish your goal, it doesn’t matter how little you want to get out of bed, just do it.”
