Hardy Just Keeps Swimming
4/24/2024 3:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving, Features
Just keep swimming.Â
Lehigh women's swimming and diving graduate student Sarah Hardy has done just that throughout her tumultuous career. Hardy made history at the 2024 Patriot League Championships, becoming the first student-athlete under head coach Rob Herb to win two gold medals. Hardy won the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard IM, setting school records and hitting NCAA B-Cut times in both events.Â
While Hardy ended her collegiate journey on top, it didn't always come easy for the school record holder, two-time Patriot League Champion and five-time Patriot League Championship medalist. Hardy first began swimming competitively when she was just seven years old.Â
"I got into swimming because my parents moved from Canada to the U.S. because my dad had a job offer, and my mom worked at the Metuchen YMCA in my hometown," Hardy said. "Because she worked there, I got free swim lessons, and that's how I learned how to swim."
From there, Hardy joined the YMCA summer team and eventually joined a year-round team after falling in love with the sport. Hardy saw success early on, competing with the New Jersey Zone Team, the Metuchen Edison Rays team and the Sea Wolves swim team.
Despite the early success, Hardy didn't think she would compete collegiately as she started plateauing when she was in high school.
"I was more frustrated with how I was doing when I was younger, but I just loved going to practice, and I loved seeing all my friends, and I liked how much fun I had at practice that it never occurred to me that I was definitely going to or definitely not going to swim in college," she said. "I just kept swimming because I liked it. I eventually did get to a point where I realized I was swimming at a level where I could compete in college, but it wasn't really a matter if I could - it was more of a matter if I wanted to."
Hailing from Edison, N.J., Hardy said everyone in her high school usually goes to Rutgers, which is less than five miles from her home. While she talked to a number of schools, her next step led her to Lehigh.Â
"I enjoyed my trip here and loved seeing the team," Hardy said. "The team was very close here which was different from other schools. Overall, this team does a really awesome job at including everyone and it was pretty evident on my recruiting trip, which is one of the things I loved about Lehigh."
Hardy came to campus as a first-year competing in every meet before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted her journey. While there was no pandemic his first collegiate season, Hardy said it wasn't the best season for her.Â
"I think I was kind of getting fed that college swimming is going to be so much better and you're going to drop a bunch of time and you're going to be good and go back to those 14-to-15-year-old times you had and forget about the 16-to-17-year-old period of your life," Hardy said. "I had this idea that once I got to college everything was going to be fine with a new team and that I was going to drop time and get to where I wanted. I knew that freshman year I wasn't competing at the level I could."
Hardy was determined to train harder to get back to where she was, but then COVID hit and she couldn't swim for three months. Hardy decided to start running because she wanted to stay fit and active.
"By the time we got back in the water, it was a long-haul," she said. "It took forever to get back into shape and while I did okay at my final meet in 2021, it still wasn't ideal. Then I just had the mentality after COVID all the way up into my junior year that I really want to get back to the times I had when I was younger. I don't want to leave this sport without getting back to one of my best times. I was so focused on this and was pushing hard."Â
While Hardy enjoyed her junior year quite a bit, she was struck by another obstacle right before the Patriot League Championships in 2022.Â
"I was born with asthma, so anytime I get sick, it can be really bad for me," Hardy said. "I hadn't been sick for so long, and I ended up getting the flu, which wiped me out of my junior year Patriots. So here I have my freshman year, which wasn't nearly as good as I wanted it to be, and then sophomore year was COVID, and junior year I only got to swim one race because I got sick the first night of Patriots. I knew what was happening because my body was aching way more than it should. I woke up the next morning and was like 'There's no way I can swim.' I got out during my race during that meet and have never stopped and gotten out of the pool because I couldn't breathe and I couldn't finish."
With only one more guaranteed year to get back to her times, Hardy decided to carry the same mentality as before, but decided to turn it up a notch.Â
"I was not going to walk away from this sport without having a best time," Hardy said. " I was past the point of determination. I trained so, so, so hard over that summer. I put myself through sets that I haven't done before, but I didn't care. I said 'I'm going to know if I did every single thing in this moment to get what I wanted, so I can look back and say I don't regret anything.'"
Hardy asked her coach to do an extra practice each week. The first-years at the time would ask why she was doing an extra practice, and Hardy said she wanted to leave the sport knowing she had tried everything possible since the last three years didn't go as planned.
Hardy did just that and by the time of the 2023 Patriot League Championships, she took second in the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard IM, swimming personal best times in both events.Â
"I remember finishing my last race at Patriots and saying 'this can't be over,'" she said. "I loved this sport so much and have really redefined my passion for this throughout college, which I was so proud of myself for, but I was also devastated at the thought that that was my last race."Â
While Hardy had another year of eligibility due to the pandemic, she was still waiting on some things.
After some time and some good news over spring break, Hardy decided to use her extra year of eligibility as she didn't want to have any regrets looking back on her career.Â
"I am so happy that I did it," she said.
Not only did Hardy continue to set personal bests, but she also turned her two silver medals into golds at the 2024 Patriot League Championships.Â
"It was so full circle," she said. "I don't expect anything from this sport. I really learned that I love it. I love training hard and I love pushing limits. I knew I had more in me and I wanted to give more. I couldn't have gotten it done without my teammates cheering so hard for me. I wish I could have watched the race because it sounded so fast."
While the Patriot League Championship medals are amazing, Hardy said it's not about winning for her.Â
"I really am focused on getting the best times and getting faster," she said. "I have fun with this sport no matter what."
Although Hardy is completely out of eligibility, she is not done swimming just yet. Hardy qualified for the Canadian Olympic Trials in the 200-yard butterfly at a meet in the summer. The Canadian Olympic Trials will take place May 18 in Toronto.
"My mom ended up telling me I made the cut and I didn't even realize," she said. "I made it by a slither of a tenth. This will be my last competitive race after 15 years. Maybe at some point, I will join a master's program, but this is to close out an awesome chapter that I would love to relieve every single second if I could. All my family is going to be there, and I'm so excited."
Â
Lehigh women's swimming and diving graduate student Sarah Hardy has done just that throughout her tumultuous career. Hardy made history at the 2024 Patriot League Championships, becoming the first student-athlete under head coach Rob Herb to win two gold medals. Hardy won the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard IM, setting school records and hitting NCAA B-Cut times in both events.Â
While Hardy ended her collegiate journey on top, it didn't always come easy for the school record holder, two-time Patriot League Champion and five-time Patriot League Championship medalist. Hardy first began swimming competitively when she was just seven years old.Â
"I got into swimming because my parents moved from Canada to the U.S. because my dad had a job offer, and my mom worked at the Metuchen YMCA in my hometown," Hardy said. "Because she worked there, I got free swim lessons, and that's how I learned how to swim."
From there, Hardy joined the YMCA summer team and eventually joined a year-round team after falling in love with the sport. Hardy saw success early on, competing with the New Jersey Zone Team, the Metuchen Edison Rays team and the Sea Wolves swim team.
Despite the early success, Hardy didn't think she would compete collegiately as she started plateauing when she was in high school.
"I was more frustrated with how I was doing when I was younger, but I just loved going to practice, and I loved seeing all my friends, and I liked how much fun I had at practice that it never occurred to me that I was definitely going to or definitely not going to swim in college," she said. "I just kept swimming because I liked it. I eventually did get to a point where I realized I was swimming at a level where I could compete in college, but it wasn't really a matter if I could - it was more of a matter if I wanted to."
Hailing from Edison, N.J., Hardy said everyone in her high school usually goes to Rutgers, which is less than five miles from her home. While she talked to a number of schools, her next step led her to Lehigh.Â
"I enjoyed my trip here and loved seeing the team," Hardy said. "The team was very close here which was different from other schools. Overall, this team does a really awesome job at including everyone and it was pretty evident on my recruiting trip, which is one of the things I loved about Lehigh."
Hardy came to campus as a first-year competing in every meet before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted her journey. While there was no pandemic his first collegiate season, Hardy said it wasn't the best season for her.Â
"I think I was kind of getting fed that college swimming is going to be so much better and you're going to drop a bunch of time and you're going to be good and go back to those 14-to-15-year-old times you had and forget about the 16-to-17-year-old period of your life," Hardy said. "I had this idea that once I got to college everything was going to be fine with a new team and that I was going to drop time and get to where I wanted. I knew that freshman year I wasn't competing at the level I could."
Hardy was determined to train harder to get back to where she was, but then COVID hit and she couldn't swim for three months. Hardy decided to start running because she wanted to stay fit and active.
"By the time we got back in the water, it was a long-haul," she said. "It took forever to get back into shape and while I did okay at my final meet in 2021, it still wasn't ideal. Then I just had the mentality after COVID all the way up into my junior year that I really want to get back to the times I had when I was younger. I don't want to leave this sport without getting back to one of my best times. I was so focused on this and was pushing hard."Â
While Hardy enjoyed her junior year quite a bit, she was struck by another obstacle right before the Patriot League Championships in 2022.Â
"I was born with asthma, so anytime I get sick, it can be really bad for me," Hardy said. "I hadn't been sick for so long, and I ended up getting the flu, which wiped me out of my junior year Patriots. So here I have my freshman year, which wasn't nearly as good as I wanted it to be, and then sophomore year was COVID, and junior year I only got to swim one race because I got sick the first night of Patriots. I knew what was happening because my body was aching way more than it should. I woke up the next morning and was like 'There's no way I can swim.' I got out during my race during that meet and have never stopped and gotten out of the pool because I couldn't breathe and I couldn't finish."
With only one more guaranteed year to get back to her times, Hardy decided to carry the same mentality as before, but decided to turn it up a notch.Â
"I was not going to walk away from this sport without having a best time," Hardy said. " I was past the point of determination. I trained so, so, so hard over that summer. I put myself through sets that I haven't done before, but I didn't care. I said 'I'm going to know if I did every single thing in this moment to get what I wanted, so I can look back and say I don't regret anything.'"
Hardy asked her coach to do an extra practice each week. The first-years at the time would ask why she was doing an extra practice, and Hardy said she wanted to leave the sport knowing she had tried everything possible since the last three years didn't go as planned.
Hardy did just that and by the time of the 2023 Patriot League Championships, she took second in the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard IM, swimming personal best times in both events.Â
"I remember finishing my last race at Patriots and saying 'this can't be over,'" she said. "I loved this sport so much and have really redefined my passion for this throughout college, which I was so proud of myself for, but I was also devastated at the thought that that was my last race."Â
While Hardy had another year of eligibility due to the pandemic, she was still waiting on some things.
After some time and some good news over spring break, Hardy decided to use her extra year of eligibility as she didn't want to have any regrets looking back on her career.Â
"I am so happy that I did it," she said.
Not only did Hardy continue to set personal bests, but she also turned her two silver medals into golds at the 2024 Patriot League Championships.Â
"It was so full circle," she said. "I don't expect anything from this sport. I really learned that I love it. I love training hard and I love pushing limits. I knew I had more in me and I wanted to give more. I couldn't have gotten it done without my teammates cheering so hard for me. I wish I could have watched the race because it sounded so fast."
While the Patriot League Championship medals are amazing, Hardy said it's not about winning for her.Â
"I really am focused on getting the best times and getting faster," she said. "I have fun with this sport no matter what."
Although Hardy is completely out of eligibility, she is not done swimming just yet. Hardy qualified for the Canadian Olympic Trials in the 200-yard butterfly at a meet in the summer. The Canadian Olympic Trials will take place May 18 in Toronto.
"My mom ended up telling me I made the cut and I didn't even realize," she said. "I made it by a slither of a tenth. This will be my last competitive race after 15 years. Maybe at some point, I will join a master's program, but this is to close out an awesome chapter that I would love to relieve every single second if I could. All my family is going to be there, and I'm so excited."
Â
Players Mentioned
Fly
/ Women's Swimming and DivingLehigh Women's Wrestling Press Conference
Monday, October 13
VB vs. Loyola
Friday, October 10
Brown & Flight 2025 - Episode Two
Friday, October 10
2025-26 Lehigh Swimming & Diving Season Preview
Friday, October 10
