At the 2024 US Olympic Swimming Trials in Indianapolis in June, Paige enjoyed a remarkable week, setting personal bests in the 200m freestyle (3rd, 1:56.36), 400m freestyle (2nd, 4:02.08) and 800m freestyle (2nd, 8:20.71) and thereby securing places on Team USA for the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay.
Paige’s Trials accomplishments are all the more impressive set against the backdrop of what she has had to overcome. Having been the Atlantic Coast Conference Swimmer of the Year in both 2020 and 2021 while competing at the University of Virginia, in 2022 she was forced to miss the world championships due to being stricken by Hashimoto’s disease, an inflammation of the thyroid gland that causes intense fatigue. That autumn, after taking the summer off to focus on her mental and physical health, Paige moved to Loughborough University in England, where she pursued a master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology while also rebuilding her fitness.
Her resilience has paid off wonderfully with gold medals at the 2023 Pan Am Games in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay. It is not unreasonable to foresee results in Paris that exceed those from Tokyo, where she claimed a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay and finished seventh in the 400m freestyle.
Paris Result:
6th place, 400m freestyle (4:02.26).
Silver medal, 4x200m freestyle relay (7:40.86).
Bronze medal, 800m freestyle (8:13.00, PB).