When it comes to swimming, the dedicated and competitive Kern sisters are a force to be reckoned with in any meet. Kathryn and Elizabeth Kern both swim for SwimMAC Carolina year-round and at Olde Georgetowne during the summer. 

Kathryn has been swimming since she was eight at Olde Georgetowne and loved the sport so much that she also joined SwimMAC at age nine. She is a junior at Charlotte Catholic High School and swims for the Cougars during the winter season. The practice schedule can be very intense with daily and weekend practices and sometimes double practices a day. Her hardwork has paid off thus far as she holds several records: 50-meter breaststroke at Olde Georgetowne for the 15-18 year old age group and part of the relay records at Olde Georgetowne for the 9-10 year old medley relay, 15-18 year old medley relay, and 15-18 year old free relay. Additionally, she has the Division 1 All-Star meet record for the 50-meter breaststroke in the 15-18 year old age group. Her strength is in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke, and 200-yard individual medley.

One of her best memories from her swimming career was at the Senior Champs Meet where she finished first in the preliminary session of the 100 breaststroke. This allowed her to be the number one seed for finals during which she raced a hard and good race with excellent technique. Once she finished the race, her teammate yelled how Kathryn had just achieved the Junior Nationals cut. Her teammates surrounded her with hugs and cheers which brought Kathryn to tears of joy. The moment was made even sweeter by a hug from her mom who was crying too, so proud of her daughter.

Kathryn is now working on the recruiting stage of her career as she hopes to continue swimming in college. She knows there are many good schools that also have strong swim programs, so she will be able to get a great education and become an even better swimmer. From her swimming career thus far, she has learned the values of hard work, determination and consistency—making her a great student athlete. Looking toward the short-term future, she is off to the Futures Championships in Minneapolis, MN where she will race for four days.

Elizabeth Kern is also an impressive swimmer. While she started swimming at age eight, she did not fall in love with the sport immediately. She did other sports such as gymnastics, ballet, and soccer as well as played piano for seven years. All these activities, especially playing soccer for five years, allowed her to see how much she truly enjoyed swimming and the challenge it provided her. It was also an added bonus that with longer and frequent swim practices, she could spend more time with her swim friends. Like Kathryn, she will swim for the Charlotte Catholic Swim Team in her freshman year after spending two years on the middle school team at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School and continues swimming for SwimMAC and Olde Georgetowne. A good diet is something Elizabeth focuses on before her swim meets. Elizabeth eats lots of meat, vegetables, grains, and carbs. Her hard work and strong diet has had great results on her swimming career including a part in the 200-meter medley relay record at Olde Georgetowne in the 11-12 age group. Her favorite events and some of her strongest are the 50-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley.

One of her favorite moments was at the 2023 Age Group Zones that brought the swimmers from Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi under one roof to compete. After finishing a great preliminary session and making it into the 50-meter freestyle finals, Elizabeth swam a fast race where she finished 13th. This strong race and the time with it gave her the opportunity to swim in the mixed medley relay for North Carolina at that very same meet. She and her relay teammates finished third. Elizabeth loved getting to stand on the podium with her teammates, proud of their hard work that paid off in a great race and competitive venue. Another thing she likes about these meets is how she has made friends from teams not only around the state but across the US.

Elizabeth’s swimming career has taught her many things such as how to deal with challenges, time-management and handling tough situations all in a healthy and positive way. These lessons she has carried over to everyday life, and Elizabeth is grateful for these lessons and the opportunities in the future. One thing she appreciates is the advice that comes with having an older sister on the same team. Having someone who has been through the same age groups, events, and difficulties that she is experiencing now makes it less stressful.

The sisters may be successful and busy swimmers but they also find time to have fun. Kathryn finds fun in hanging out with friends, a good show, an interesting book, or some peaceful time to sleep. Elizabeth likes to read, watch tv, hang out with her friends, or spend time playing with Ruby, the family’s Doberman. In the Charlotte area, the sisters and their family enjoy going to Carowinds, the movies, unique restaurants, and hiking.