Ivan Puskovitch: Loyalty to the Craft

“Swimming is a loyal sport. It’s going to love you back as much as you put the effort in,” says Ivan Puskovitch. Puskovitch has been swimming since he was five years old, was a USA Junior National Champion in pool and open water and is now an NCAA swimmer. “I’m a firm believer that anyone can be successful if you put in the work. It’s one of those sports if you are going to put in the work, no matter how much talent you have, you can be the best—and that takes a certain amount of loyalty to the craft.” 

For Puskovitch, loyalty to swimming started with a high level of dedication when he was growing up. “I swam at my high school pool, so I would wake up at 5:30 a.m., go to school for practice and I’d be there until 9:00 at night. I would swim two hours, go to school, and then I would wait until 7:00 p.m. for practice, swim until 9:00 p.m. and then go back to my mom,” Puskovitch recalls. While he was part of a team, no one else was at his level so, as Puskovitch says, “It was very much a two-man band, just me and my coach most of the time.”  

The commitment paid off and Puskovitch saw early and impressive results, including breaking a national age group record when he was ten years old. His success continued from the pool to the open water where he became a National Junior Champion and went on to finish 8th at the World Junior Open Water Championships in 2018.  

But for Puskovitch, it wasn’t—and still isn’t—just about a loyalty to stroke development. “I place a huge emphasis on genuine relationships, being there for each other, checking in on each other,” he says of his coaches and teammates. Even now that he has moved away from his hometown in Pennsylvania, Puskovitch still talks to all his coaches from high school. “A lot of people think of loyalty as being there for other people when things are hard, but I think it’s also important to be there for people when things are good and be supportive,” Puskovitch says. 

“I approach swimming at this stage in my life as I’m being loyal to those who have sacrificed for me earlier in my life. I’m being loyal to those who have given things up or taken time out of their day to help me get where I want to be or pursue my goals because I was passionate about them. Throwing in the towel or giving up in a set when it matters most is a disservice to those who did what they could to get me to where I am now.” 

“If you’re loyal enough to put the work in, it’s there when you need it,” Puskovitch says, and that applies in the water and beyond.