Meet Beata Nelson

Beata Nelson is a home-grown Wisconsin girl. Her story began and has remained in the same place for most of her life – Madison, Wisconsin. Her first love was the sport of gymnastics, but she ultimately decided she was meant to be in the water. At age 11, she decided to tried out for the swim team, made it, and immediately started to see drastic improvement. Her Olympic dream took off after attending the 2012 Olympic Trials
as a spectator.

She ended a very successful High School career and decided to stay close to home and attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This decision came after finding out that her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Dealing with this emotional toll, along with eating disorders and multiple changes in her coaching staff, Beata nearly lost her love of the sport. Her fire was reignited her junior year of college, where she won three respective individual Big Ten championships and NCAA championships; she broke multiple NCAA records and achieved one of her most high-ranking accomplishments by breaking an American and US Open record. This allowed her to compete as a Cali Condor in the International Swim League's second season and race on an international stage.

One of her biggest passions in life is giving back to the people in her community and the people who have supported her thus far. She participated in food drives and volunteer opportunities in high school which extended through her college career. These opportunities have been some of the most gratifying moments in her life. Now, she is training to compete in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, & 200 IM at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. Beata is working to promote self-love, authenticity, normalizing struggle, giving back and achieving lifelong goals in her professional career.