Australia has a rich history of swimming within the culture of the country. Kids are required to take swimming lessons at a young age, and the water is what a lot of social gatherings revolve around.
Joshua Reed is on the BYU swim team and was born and raised in Newcastle, Australia. Most of the time, when he would be with friends or have family parties, there was a common theme of water.
A lot of families have the beach as their backyard, so going to swim multiple times a week is an average activity to do together with friends.
"There was never a situation where a friend didn't know how to swim, none of them were afraid to hop in the water," Reed said.
Reed grew up swimming just as everyone else did in his area, but he became more excited and invested in it after competing in a meet at age 9 and realizing he had a real talent for it.
Swimming is something everyone knows Down Under, which is why choosing to swim collegiately was a seemingly simple and important decision for him to make.
"I've always known about it, it's always been an experience I've thought about," he said.
The ability to swim while attending college in America is well-known to athletes in Australia, which gave Reed a bigger influence to do what he could to make the trip to the U.S.
"Get school paid for, travel around America, and still get to swim, so I thought I might try if I can," Reed said.
BYU provided Reed the opportunity to make a bigger splash as a competitive swimmer. When Australian athletes visit the U.S., they become excited to compete at a place where they can invest in their athletic career.
Competitively, there are differences in types of swimming. Australia focuses on long-course competing, while the U.S. uses yards and short-course more often. It was a small adjustment for Reed, even though other aspects felt very different after he began swimming in the U.S.
"Coming here was adjusting to being a part of the team, and how you swim for the team matters, where back home it is like if I don't swim well, that just affects me," he said.
The aspect of togetherness and team experience, especially at BYU, is one that can be a bit much to get used to.
"Here it feels like when you win, you win for the whole team as well," said Reed.
Reed has qualified for the Olympic Trials in Australia twice now, once in 2021 and again in 2024. He was able to compete at the trials in 2021 before committing to BYU and moving to Utah.
Though Reed swims in the United States and for an American team, the course of how he got here is entirely rooted in where and how he was raised back in Newcastle, Australia.
"Swimming, I think it is just ingrained into me, like that lifestyle of swimming," Reed said.