Seventeen-year-old Alex Shackell made history at Carmel High School by winning gold and silver in the Paris Olympics while still managing her senior year. As reported by IndyStar, Shackell is only the second Indiana high school girl to medal at the Olympics, following Sharon Wichman's achievement at the 1968 Mexico City Games.
After her races, the star swimmer soaked in Parisian culture and cuisine, an experience she found outstanding after a diet of athletic village offerings. Upon returning to the aquatic center, Shackell cheered on her teammates as they shattered world records and dominated the medal count. "That was the best possible way we could have ended it," Shackell told IndyStar amid the excitement of the night.
Earlier this year, Shackell carved her name into the Indiana high school sports history books at the IHSAA Girls Swimming & Diving Championships, where she not only won four events but also set a state record. As reported by Sports Illustrated, her historic swim in the 100-yard butterfly was completed in a blistering 50.25 seconds.
It seems that talent runs in the family, with her father, Nicholas Shackell, being an 18-time All-American swimmer and her brothers, Aaron and Andrew, also carving out their lanes in competitive swimming. Alex's Olympic success is no solo achievement. Her older brother and Carmel's own, Aaron, who took his talent to the international stage, and her twin brother, Andrew, who is poised to make waves at the Junior Pan Pacific event in Australia later in the year, according to Sports Illustrated.
Despite her Olympic success, Shackell is looking forward to a normal senior year and is already aiming for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. "I always told my dad I'd get an Olympic medal for him since he never did," she told WRTV.
