Pacific Master’s Brandon Fischer describes the United States Olympic Trials as a show. He’s in a great position to know, as his participation at this year’s trials in Indianapolis is his fifth time as a competitor. If past Trials were a show, 2024 was a theatrical spectacular, held in a football stadium with over 20,000 spectators a day. The staging fortunately did not deter Brandon from his mission. Of the event itself, Brandon said the swimmers behaved much as they have in past trials. Some outgoing and gregarious, others withdrawn, but all with total focus on their reason for being there. To make the team!

While Brandon has not achieved that status, he has made it to the semi-finals in the past, and over his over two-decade quest, has remained focused and dedicated, making sacrifices beyond belief. Without financial support from sponsorships, and with a full-time job at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, his life has been physically, mentally and emotionally, committed to this one pursuit. He thinks of himself as a ‘warrior’ and his lifestyle reflects the rigors and sacrifices of his singular focus. He explains that he is, “very short on short-term pleasures and there are lots of no’s in his life.” No junk food with rigorous attention to diet, much of his food he grows himself. No TV and even no to people in his life who do not complement his quest.

A lot of people have also asked if Brandon is delusional in his pursuit. However, the nay-sayers or haters come naturally in his life and he also just says no to them.

“I have a lot of nay-sayers in my life and from experience that comes from falling a lot. It comes from getting back-up and when things are not going well, just stay silent. Silence is not a weakness, it’s an answer to the bright lights.” - Brandon Fischer

Brandon has consistently appeared at the top of the Pacific Masters Overall Swimmer of the Year rankings, along with several Master World Records, but you might not see him at USMS competitions. In fact, most of the time he is swimming at USA Swimming competitions, which have more long course meters (LCM) competitions. (Jenn Hwang, another Pacific Masters member confirms that she also participates in 4 to 6 USA competitions a year for the chance to swim long course meters.). For Brandon, Masters Swimming just didn’t seem to fit his vision of high performance, until he remembered what his father told him: “Look at this as an opportunity”. Since swimming Masters, he’s seen a different perspective observing that everyone is friendly, having fun, but are also serious in their pursuit of swimming fast.

An air of mystery surrounds Brandon’s next move. He has not ruled out a 6th Olympic Trials run, but certainly hasn’t confirmed it. In terms of his future Masters swimming career, it’s also a mystery. He has recalibrated his thoughts on Masters, seeing the balance between both swimming for fun, competitive aspects and long-term fitness benefits. However one thing is for certain, when this mysterious lone warrior steps on the pool deck, there will always be a great swim to watch.

“I never thought I would be swimming 5 OTs at this age. However through discipline, what I love doing and having passion, integrity and character will have more value than all of my achievements.” -Brandon Fischer. One last phrase that Brandon listens to as follows. “I choose to live by choice, not by chance. I choose make changes and not excuses. I choose excel and not compete. I choose to be useful, not used. I choose be useful, not used. I choose motivation over manipulation. I choose to listen to voices from within, versus the voices from without.”

This recent article appeared on the SwimSwam web site describes Brandon’s philosophical approach to his vision. https://swimswam.com/inside-the-mind-of-swimmer-philosopher-brandon-fischer-ahead-of-his-5th-u-s-olympic-trials/