ORLANDO, Fla. — Rylee Erisman practically lives in the water.

“Day-to-day, we wake up at 4 a.m., we come train and then I go to school, then I come back to training, then I go home, do some schooling and try to be a normal 15-year-old,” said Erisman. 

The Windermere High School sophomore is anything but normal — she’s a swimming prodigy. 

What You Need To Know

  • Rylee Erisman was .36 seconds away from making the U.S. Olympic team

  • She broke state records for the 50 and 100 freestyle

  • Erisman almost broke Gretchen Walsh's national high school swim records

  • She wants to represent Team USA in the 2028 Olympics

Erisman was .36 seconds away from earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in the 50 meter freestyle.

This past month at the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championships, she won the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) individual state titles in the 50 and 100 freestyles with times of 21.61 and 47.14, which were the fastest in state history.

Erisman was tenths of seconds away from breaking Olympian Gretchen Welsh’s national high school records of 21.59 and 46.98. 

"I’ve always looked up to her, and she swims similar events that I do," said Erisman. "We raced a couple of times. She’s just super nice and a great person to look up to.”

Another one of Erisman’s biggest motivations is her older brother Ryan, who won individual state titles for the 200 and 500-yard freestyles, and just committed to the University of California, Berkeley. 

“I’m super grateful for him and we love pushing each other in the water every day, and just having fun with it," she said. "We love watching each other achieve all of our goals, and it’s super great to have him to look up to for motivation.”

Erisman says her goal is to become an Olympian in 2028 and compete on the world stage in Los Angeles.