You, as I, might wonder how it feels to win a world championship at age 17. That’s what Mississippian Rachel McAlpin did Wednesday winning the 50-meter breaststroke gold medal at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, nearly 6,000 miles from hometown of Brandon.
“It feels really cool, honestly,” young McAlpin replied in a phone call Thursday afternoon. “It truly is a blessing.”
And then McAlpin apologized for sounding hoarse, not because she is sick, but because, as she put it, “I’ve been cheering so hard all day and night for all my Team USA teammates.”
One of those teammates is Charlotte Crush of Louisville, Kentucky, the 17-year-old daughter of Mimi Bowen, formerly a highly competitive swimmer for the Jackson Sunkist swim program. Crush Thursday won the 100-meter backstroke gold medal. Said McAlpin, “We’ve become really good friends. Charlotte is an incredible swimmer and person.”
McAlpin is fairly incredible herself. You, as I, might want to know more about Mississippi’s new swimming world champion. Here’s a short dossier: Rachel McAlpin, who is home-schooled, has swam competitively since the age of 5 and regularly swims for the Flowood-based Mississippi Makos. She has committed to swim collegiately for the University of Arkansas, beginning in the fall of 2026. She is the middle of Chris and Christie McAlpin’s three daughters. Rachel is deeply religious, soft-spoken and exceedingly polite, which belies a fierce competitiveness. As a swimmer, she is known as a strong finisher.
McAlpin fell behind early in her championship race Wednesday but then rallied as she typically does and touched .34 seconds ahead of 18-year-old Smilte Plytnykaite of the Republic of Lithuainia. In winning, McAlpin equalled her personal best time of 30.78 seconds.
“I knew I was in pretty good shape in the last 10 meters when I couldn’t see anybody ahead of me,” McAlpin said. “I knew I just needed to hold on and I did.”
No telling how many hours McAlpin has spent training the past decade-plus to prepare for that 30.78 seconds of glory. Competitive swimming can be almost like a full-time job, requiring hours upon hours of rigorous pool time, plus weight room workouts.
“I guess it really is kind of like a job, and you really have to love it, which I do,” she said. “You also have to have great coaching and a strong support group at home, and I have definitely had that.”
McAlpin is probably finished swimming – but not cheering, she says – in the Romania meet, and will now point toward 2026 competition for both the Makos and Team USA. Yes, she says, her dream is to represent the U.S. in the 2028 Summer Olympics at Los Angeles.
“The Olympics are a goal, but I have a whole lot of swimming and so much work to do before that,” she said.
If nothing else, her victory in Romania establishes her as as a solid threat, if not favorite, to make the U.S. Olympic team.
Meanwhile, her parents have watched, via streaming, at home in Brandon while their middle daugher swam the preliminary heat, the semifinals and, finally, the championship race half a globe away in a country that shares a 384-mile border with Ukraine. With the time difference, they stayed up until 2 a.m. Tuesday to watch the prelims. Said Chris McAlpin, her father, “We were like any parents would be, nervously pacing beforehand and then cheering like crazy during the races. Obviously, we are extremely proud and blessed. It took a minute to sink in but it has: Our daughter is a world champion.”
