Who is Erika Braun? A look at swimmer who broke American record at 50

At the 2023 TAC Titans Polar Plunge, Erika Braun of the home team broke the women's 50-54 100 freestyle USMS record. The 50-year-old finished ninth overall with a time of 52.55 seconds. She also owned the previous record of 52.77, which was established in May 2022.

Braun, who was 40 when she qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials, has broken the age group record three times. Fall Willeboordse's 53.60-second record, which she has held since April 2016, was broken in February 2022. She holds the age group record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.19 seconds.

Erika Braun finished the Polar Plunge far faster than she did at the USMS Nationals in May. That made the difference for her, as she finished in 26.94 seconds rather than 26.92 seconds, 0.02 seconds slower than her previous record.

Braun wasn't done. Less than a week later, at the 48th Annual Sunbelt SCY Championships, Jennifer Mihalik (27.58 back), Sharon Taylor (29.32 breast), Hannah Caron (24.34 fly), and Braun (23.73 free) shattered the women's 25+ 200 medley relay record. They finished 1:44.96, 0.05 seconds slower than their previous record, held by the Southern Methodist Masters since 2008.

---

Who is Erika Braun?

Erika Braun is well-known in North Carolina as a talented swimmer and fierce competitor.

Braun was a gymnast until she realized, at the age of 12, that it was not her sport, owing to her towering height (5'10"). She was residing in Columbus, IN, and her Donner Swim Club instructor, Jim Sheridan, discovered a method to pique her interest in swimming.

She got hooked two years after she qualified for the Junior Nationals. During this time, she also found that she excelled at sprinting and disliked the discomfort of distance races, an attitude she still has now.

She started high school and found the team part of swimming. She competed in sprints at the 1986 State Championships, where she established a high school record in the 50 Free and was part of the winning 400 Free relay team.

Sadly for Columbus, but happily for her new high school, the family relocated to Wayzata, Minnesota, where she enrolled at Wayzata High School.

Swimming made her transfer to a new school simpler, and she enjoyed her new team. She continued to dominate sprint events, placing first in the 50 and 100 Freestyle events for the next three years of high school state finals.

Erika Braun is still ranked in the top 25 of all Wayzata High School swimmers in seven events, including the 500m freestyle. Her coach established a goal for the swimmers to qualify for the 1988 Olympic trials held in Austin, Texas, when she was in high school. As trials approached, she still needed to qualify and used the summer Junior Nationals meeting to do so, winning the event and setting a pool record at Arizona State University.

Erika Braun dodged the water for 12 years before deciding to train for a triathlon. She'd been jogging and bicycling, but she knew she needed to go in the pool. She discovered Raleigh Area Masters (RAM) and wanted to see how the workouts and training went. Unsurprisingly, she returned to swimming and realized she still enjoyed it.