7-foot New Jersey Swimmer Max Ciechanowski Competes to Honor Late Father
Standing 7 feet tall, Max Ciechanowski has become one of the top high school swimmers in New Jersey.
Ciechanowski had his choice of sports, but swims because he loves the sport – and because it tightens the bond with his late father.
“I get asked a lot about basketball and other sports, and what I’m doing swimming,” Max told NJ.com. “The short answer is I’m better at swimming. … I have a true passion.”
His father Karol Ciechanowski died in 2022 from a heart attack at age 45 and was an inspiration for Max. Karol, 6-5, left Poland for the United States when he was in high school, set college records at St. John’s and swam against Michael Phelps in the 2000 Olympic Trials.
“When I was younger, it just seemed like he was a superhero,” Max said. “It set the standard of what I think I should achieve and how high I’m able to go in the sport. My dad is who I strive to be like. I’d be grateful to be half the man he was.”
At 13, he took solace in the water.
“The pool has always been a place for me where I’m able to take time away from whatever’s on my mind,” Max said. “I have that outlet for two hours to go and just swim and focus on that.”
And that is what he did – burying his grief lap after lap.
“I couldn’t think, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat. I didn’t know what to do,” his mother Martyna said. “He was swimming every day for hours. He didn’t want to talk to anybody. He just wanted to swim. I spoke to his coach and a psychologist, who’s a friend, and they said, ‘Let him.’”
It went from a place of solace to a place where Max found purpose.
He swims for Delbarton High School in Morristown and once he got into the water there, he was dealing with different kind of pain – growth spurts, which led to pulled muscles all over his body. Delbarton also produced Jack Alexy.
“He dealt with a lot of growing pains, particularly in his knees and his legs,” Delbarton coach Pat Savidge told NJ.com. “He had grown so much in the year leading up to it. He still swam fast, but I don’t think he improved as much as he had hoped for himself.”
Until this season.
Ciechanowski finished fourth in the 200 free at the state finals (1:40.77). He helped Delbarton win its first Morris County title since 2020 with county titles in the 200 free (1:54.42) and 400 free (4:05.72) and was part of the state’s top sprint relay.
With two more years in high school, his goal is to become an Olympian.
A tall task, but then again, he is pretty tall.
Read the full NJ.com article here.
