🏅From Issaquah to Olympic Glory: Keana Hunter’s Unstoppable Rise in Artistic Swimming
Silver medalist finds balance between elite competition and enjoying a caramel latte in her hometown.
ISSAQUAH, Wash. – Keana Hunter walked up to Issaquah Coffee wearing a gray zip-up hoodie with a patch that read United States Olympic Team, a distinction reserved for those who’ve competed on the world’s biggest stage.
She stepped inside, ordered a caramel latte, and found a shaded table outside. It was a bustling Saturday morning, the coffee shop teeming with cyclists in colorful spandex and locals savoring the cool early-summer air.
A silver medalist in artistic swimming at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Hunter joins the ranks of elite athletes like Vancouver’s Jordan Chiles, who brought home a gymnastics team gold. Yet here in her hometown, where May 19 is officially Keana Hunter Day, she blends in, sipping coffee while others pass by without a second glance at the logo on her jacket.
Just a week earlier, she was anything but anonymous serving as Grand Marshal in Issaquah’s Fourth of July parade. Standing in the back of a green Ford Bronco, dressed in Team USA gear and proudly wearing her silver medal, she greeted the cheering crowd.
“It was really fun,” the 21-year-old said with a grin. “I was like, ‘Can I keep the Bronco, though?’”
“This Is What I Want to Do”
Born into an athletic family, Hunter was drawn to the water from a young age. Her father, Jim, and her older brother, Taylor, were avid swimmers. She and her twin brother, Kavan, naturally followed suit. At 8 years old, a friend invited her to a synchronized swimming camp (now called artistic swimming), and something clicked.
“It had everything I liked,” she said. “It has a team aspect. It’s in a pool. It’s artistic. I just loved the creativity of it. I was sold. That was it.”
By the end of the camp, she was telling her mom, Heather, she wanted to quit everything else.
She competed on the Issaquah High School swim team, but her heart belonged to artistic swimming, and to the dream of one day making the Olympic team.
That dream was far from guaranteed. Heading into 2024, the U.S. had not qualified a team for the Olympics in 16 years.
“There was a lot of pressure,” Hunter said.
The first chance to qualify came at the Pan Am Games, but the U.S. fell short, and Hunter didn’t make that roster. Then came the 2024 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where the U.S. team, with Hunter in the pool, earned bronze and punched its ticket to Paris.
Next, Hunter had to earn her Olympic spot. Of the 12 athletes on the Olympic team, only eight compete. Heading into preparations, five spots were already filled.
During the team’s intense eight-hour training sessions, she learned every position in the pool to increase her chances. Her adaptability paid off.
“The night before (the announcement), I was preparing, because I was either going to be really happy or heartbroken,” she recalled. “The coach sat me down and said, ‘Keana Hunter, you freakin’ made the Olympic team.’”
She was overjoyed. “It was a beautiful moment,” she said. “I was giddy.”
Olympic Dreams Realized
The Olympic Village was a surreal experience. She met icons like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Simone Biles, all while enjoying free coffee, baguettes, and chocolate muffins.
Still, the nerves were real.
“I’ve never been more nervous than that first routine, because I actually let myself realize I was at the Olympics,” she said.
Once the competition began, muscle memory and focus kicked in. The U.S. team nailed its final routine with an impressive degree of difficulty. The coaches were able to tally the team’s points and already knew they’d earned silver, but held off telling the team to let them experience the joy together.
“We were jumping up and down,” Hunter said. “We were crying happy tears. Just, ‘Wow, we did that.’”
Silver Medal, Golden Perspective
Hunter carries her medal with everywhere she travels. She has a beautiful Louis Vuitton case to one day use as a display piece, but that will come later. “I just like holding it,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s real.’”
Artistic swimming demands strength, endurance, and precision, essentially performing an intricate dance routine calmly above the water, while churning your legs in a way that creates a “floor” in the water. It's as mentally grueling as it is physically exhausting.
Hunter balances it all while studying at Ohio State and training with the national team in Los Angeles. To help make ends meet, she works as a fitness trainer, often after a full day of intense practice.
Despite the sacrifices, she wouldn’t trade it for anything. With the 2028 Olympics coming to Los Angeles, Team USA is already qualified. Hunter’s journey is far from over.
A Moment to Savor
For now, Hunter is focused on enjoying life post-Paris, splitting time between college, national team training, and exploring opportunities to model and travel. She keeps her medal close, a reminder of years of discipline and perseverance.
Artistic swimming may not always grab headlines, but for Hunter, it’s the culmination of everything she loves: artistry, athleticism, and teamwork. And while the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are already on her radar, so is the simple joy of being back home where she can sip her coffee in peace, medal nearby, knowing the world has seen what she’s capable of.
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