At 33, She Was the Oldest Swimmer at Europeans — and Still Won Gold!

Defying age and expectations, Kasia Wasick shows the world that age really is just a number as she wins gold at the European Aquatics Championship and breaks Masters World Record with her brothers.  

Five-time Olympian and Polish national record holder Kasia Wasick sprinted her way to gold in the women’s 50m freestyle at the European Aquatics Championship. In front of a raging home crowd, Wasick delivered a perfect race to hit the wall in 23.2 seconds to take the title and win her very first individual gold medal–as the oldest swimmer at the meet. Then, unlike most professional swimmers, the 33 years-old stayed in Poland to race at the following Masters European Championships. Not only did she break masters records in the 50, 100, and 200 m freestyle but, along with her two brothers, claimed the world masters record for the 4 x 50m mixed freestyle relay. Wasick originally retired in 2016 but, even as the sport gets younger and faster, Wasick finds a way to be faster and more competitive than ever. 

“ I never thought I'm gonna make it and go to another Olympics and then to another Olympics and still be in the game. But over the years, I'm definitely not the same athlete. I raced many generations and I had to evolve every year to be the athlete I am right now and I think next year I'm gonna be a little bit different. But that's the beauty of it,” Wasick said in a post-race interview.  

“Even though I'm almost the oldest, I always try to learn from other swimmers–see how they do their warm downs and warm ups–but what's best about this is I just get to race.” 

Winning Gold in the Professional Women’s 50m Freestyle 

“ Winning my first individual gold medal at home in front of my family, in front of my people–that's just incredible. I'm so happy,” Wasick says.  ”I'm still super high on the whole week.” 

Wasick led the short-course race from start to finish, hitting the 25 m split at 11.17. Beryl Gastaldello of France and Italy’s Sara Curtis, who tied for second, pushed Wasick right to the wall where she out-touched both by 0.21 seconds with a final time of 23.2.  

“The best thing was when I touched the wall, I didn’t even look at the scoreboard. I didn’t know the time but I knew I won because the crowd went nuts,” she laughs. “That was a beautiful moment that I will definitely carry with me through the rest of my career.” 

Wasick raced in 6 events total. Notably, she also won two bronze medals as part of the mixed 4x50m medley and the women’s 4x50m freestyle teams.   

Not only did she have the home crowd advantage but Wasick had her family in the crowd, including, to her surprise, her husband who flew over from their home in Texas at the last minute to surprise her.  

“My family was there in the stands. I mean, all my family–and my husband. He was a star. He originally wasn't supposed to come to Poland because of work. He didn't tell me he flew in for my race so that was so emotional for me to have him and all of them there,” she says. 

A Family World Record 

While most of her peers returned home after the event, Wasick stayed in Poland, not just to visit with family–but to race with them. Wasick entered the Masters version of the event as well, competing in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle, winning and setting records in all three events for the 30+ age group. But the primary reason she stayed to race masters was to swim with her family. They assembled a power house team: Wasick’s two brothers, Robert Wilk and Krzysztof Wilk (both former elite swimmers), and a member of their home club, Paulina Peda (a 2024 Olympian who is also racing professionally). Together, the dream Polish team raced the 4 x 50m freestyle in a time of 1:35.72 to win and break the masters world record.  

“Our dream was always to swim together in the relay,” Wasick shares. “So when it finally happened, it was just–we were laughing and smiling and it was just such a fun memory.” 

From Retirement to European Champion 

The former NCAA champion moved to the USA in 2012 to pursue swimming and her studies at the University of Southern California. Upon her graduation in 2016, a shoulder injury and a myriad of life changes led to her retirement from swimming but the best was still to come. Two years later in Las Vegas, she joined some friends at a local masters meet and Wasick realized she still loved swimming. Soon after, she was invited to join a professional team and since then, Wasick has competed in two more Olympics (finishing 5th in the women’s 50 m freestyle in Tokyo and Paris), bettered her national records in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, earned countless World Cup races, and, now, her first individual medal and masters world records.  

Wasick doesn’t regret her retirement. The time away gave her a positive perspective that powers her through every tough training session, every competition, and helps her constantly find joy in her sport. “I realized the whole journey is amazing. The chance I have to swim, to meet amazing people, enjoy time in the pool, what I’m doing, working with my body, and having fun. I want to enjoy it while it lasts,” she says.  

Throughout the second part of her career, THEMAGIC5 have been honoured to support her journey.  

“I just hope our relationship can grow even bigger because THEMAGIC5 was the company that really believed in me before any international success, before I had an international medal. They approached me and wanted to sign me and, for me, it was really special that someone believed in me from the beginning,” she says.  

“It’s a very organic relationship. I love their product. I tested it before signing and they gave me a chance to see if I liked it but I fell in love with the goggles.” 

Targeting Her Sixth Olympics 

While she raced the European championship wearing the pink mirrored version of THEMAGIC5 goggles, her favourite THEMAGIC5 goggles are the red “Kasia” edition made especially for her to race at the Paris Olympics–and she’s hoping to put the red goggles on again for Los Angeles 2028.  

 ”That's definitely my goal. Obviously, I want to take one year at the time because I want to enjoy this podium but it’s definitely my goal to go to my sixth Olympics,” she says.  

“It's going to be in Los Angeles and that’s kind of where my career started. To be able to go to my college, maybe train there, and be in the city that I feel really good in, that's something beautiful that I can do. So, yes, it’sdefinitely my goal and I hope I can be in the best shape of my life there. The success at Europeans gave me a lot of confidence.” 

THEMAGIC5 is proud to continue supporting Wasick in her current and future success, whether that’s breaking world records with her family or chasing the Olympic dream for the sixth time.