Bio

Heidi Nelson swam at El Camino College in 1999. She already had a degree from UC Santa Barbara after transferring there from Northwestern University. Deciding to return to school to pursue a nursing degree brought her to the pool and a return to collegiate swimming. She had only used one year of eligibility at Northwestern. Heidi stayed involved with aquatics via masters swimming to stay in shape for her LA County Beach Lifeguard job and ocean competition. At the grand old age of 28 she decided that one more year of competition would be fun since she was going to school full time again.

Heidi stepped up her training and ended up with fantastic results. She broke two national records, three state records, three conference records, and eight school records. Best part of all was the lifetime best in the 100-meter butterfly, which was her signature event. She was selected the high point winner at the state championships and never lost a race all season. Heidi was very encouraging to all the members of her team. She turned her education into a career in nursing and continues to give back to swimming by helping to coach the Mira Costa High School swim team for the last several years. Heidi is an outstanding representative of the sport of swimming.