Ben Cho ’22 waits to dive in for a relay. Photo courtesy of Laura Solano-Florez
Despite this being his first year at Choate, Ben Cho ’22 has already contributed to numerous victories this winter with Boys’ Varsity Swimming. He has won many sprint freestyle races and has participated in successful relays, and he will continue to help the team as they prepare for the Founders League and New England Championships. Recently, he sat down with associate editor George McCabe ’20 to talk about how he started swimming, his adjustment to Choate, and his goals for the end of the season.
George McCabe: How did you start out swimming?
Ben Cho: I mean, I kind of just started out like anyone else. My mom wanted me to know swimming so that I could use it to survive. I ended up getting pretty good at it, so that’s how I started swimming.
GM: What do you like the most about swimming?
BC: I just like beating people. Practice can be really bad, but when I beat someone that I’ve been trying to beat or trying to get a time cut that I’ve always wanted to get. It feels so good to get that rush.
GM: What has been different about swimming at Choate compared to your other swimming experiences?
BC: At my old team, we definitely did more conditioning, weights, and dryland stuff before and after practice. But then, here at Choate, it is kind of like one team, which is good. It’s also been different because the way that I’ve been training is different. In the past, I’ve been more sprint focused, but I’ve been doing more long-distance here.
GM: What challenges in swimming have you dealt with this season?
BC: For sure adjusting to a new team is tough. I’ve been with the same team for about six years now, so getting to a new team is difficult. But, it is going well.
GM: Do you have a favorite professional swimmer?
BC: I would say Caeleb Dressel because one time he gave me his cap. Beforehand, I liked watching Adam Peaty, Ryan Murphy, but then now, it is Caeleb Dressel because I got the chance to meet him.
GM: Do you participate in any other sports besides swimming, and what do you like about those sports?
BC: Before I started consistently swimming, I either played golf, basketball, or swimming. I kind of chose swimming because for golf I did not have the mentality to play. And, I just wasn’t very good at basketball, so I think I just chose swimming.
GM: What lessons have you learned from swimming?
BC: I’ve learned that you don’t always get what you want. Swimming is super tough because it is a work in progress, unlike some other sports where you see sort of instant results. But then, in swimming, you have to keep on working at it. So, I guess it taught me resiliency and to be determined to get to that point.
GM: Do you have any personal or team goals for the team heading into the end of the season?
BC: Winning New England’s is out of reach right now, but I want to try to win Founders as a freshman. I think that would be a very good accomplishment. For the boys’ team, we have a really good shot at winning Founders even though we lost to Loomis in a dual meet. With a better lineup and being a little more tapered, I think we can beat Loomis. I think the girls’ team will dominate. Considering New England’s, Deerfield was a tough competitor, but I think we have a good shot against them. Getting third at New England’s would be solid.
GM: Do you have future plans for swimming beyond Choate?
BC: I’ve been swimming long enough that I think I would be able to do it in college, and I wouldn’t get burnt out. That’s for sure one of my goals: to swim Division One in college.
