Kristi Williams
Hi, I’m Kristi Williams, and I’ve pretty much been in the water my entire life.
I first found my way to Masters swimming as a graduate student in Philadelphia, where I swam with Pennypack Mastersfor two years. After moving to Cincinnati, I spent a short time with the Cincinnati Marlins Masters, but life had other plans. Two knee surgeries and the arrival of my two kids pulled me away from the pool for a while. About ten years later, everything came full circle when my daughter Maddy joined the Tigersharks. Standing on the pool deck again completely rekindled my love for the sport, and I’ve been back ever since.
Swimming has always been a part of who I am. I started as an age-group swimmer in Canada, continued with club and high school swimming in Cincinnati, and eventually swam in college in Texas. I even took a short break during my senior year of high school, but I was fortunate to land at a Division III university that was just launching its swim program. Being part of that inaugural team was incredibly special, and the friendships and experiences from those years are something I’ll always treasure. Today, I’m grateful to give back to the sport as an assistant swim coach at Colerain High School and by championing the annual adapted swim camp through Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Helping others find their place in the water is one of the most rewarding parts of my life.
There are so many reasons I keep coming back to the pool. I love the fitness challenge—every set reminds me that I’m capable of pushing myself, improving, and showing up consistently. I love the people who share the lanes, the early mornings, and the grind. There’s something uniquely motivating about training beside others who understand both the big dreams and the small personal victories. The water itself is one of the few places where my thoughts feel clear and steady. It’s where I let go of tension, reset, and find peace. More than anything, though, it’s the community—built on inclusion, encouragement, accountability, and mutual respect—that keeps me anchored to this sport.
What I love most about this Masters team is that it embodies everything that has kept me swimming all these years. We’re fortunate to have dedicated, high-quality coaches who genuinely invest in helping us improve. And outside the pool, we’re always up for an adventure—open-water swims, a cold-water plunge or two, snow tubing, or even just a happy hour. That spirit of togetherness makes this team incredibly fun to be part of.
As my column two swim buddies will happily confirm, I love distance freestyle and butterfly. Five hundreds all different ways? Bring it on. Multiple 300s pull? Perfect. I’ve also been known to “encourage” others to appreciate the beauty of butterfly during midweek workouts. On the flip side, breaststroke feels like fast walking to me, and “4–6 kicks off each wall” is definitely my nemesis.
Right now, the most meaningful part of all of this is that I get to share the joy of swimming with my children. Watching them discover their own love for the water—and experiencing it together—is something I will never take for granted.