All it took was a small spark to start a fire in the Wistey sister’s hearts to aim higher than collegiate swimming.

The sister duo had the opportunity of a lifetime when they were offered in the spring to represent their other home country, the Philippines, on the swimming and diving team. But it wasn’t easy getting there.  

The sisters were born in the United States, but because of their mother’s citizenship in the Philippines, they were also granted citizenship to the Philippines in addition to their natural born U.S. citizenship.

Growing up in the same household, both sisters competed against each other. Oddly enough, Imelda Wistey didn’t make her childhood swim team in the beginning because she couldn’t swim the breaststroke properly. But in her collegiate days, that’s the stroke she’s known for.

“[When I was trying out] I did something really funky,” Imelda said. “It was just like, no, that’s not swimming, but now it’s my baby.” 

Kaitlin Wistey got into swimming first when she was 6 years old, and Imelda followed when she was 10.

“I started swimming first,” Kaitlin said. “[Imelda] was a gymnast when I looked into the sport, and she got injured during gymnastics so she decided to try it out. We both kind of fell in love with it over time and now we’re addicted.”

Kaitlin swims backstroke, Imelda swims breaststroke, and they both swim individual medleys.

The sisters have done a lot together, including going to the same college, Iowa State, and swimming on the same teams. But this time, Kaitlin followed Imelda to Ames.

“Watching my sister go through the program through the years, I really liked the academics here, and I really liked that it’s close to home. I guess I just fell in love with this school over time,” said Kaitlin, who is currently a sophomore on the team.

Imelda had set several school records during her collegiate career as a Cyclone. She currently still holds the top time for the 100-yard breaststroke and the second best time for the 200-yard breaststroke.

Kaitlin has set one school record, tying for 20^th in the 100-yard backstroke so far in her collegiate career but is out this season because of injury.

ISU swim coach Duane Sorenson believes that when swimmers work hard, doors can open.

That’s when a door opened for the duo. The girls came across something that many others can’t do: swim for their country. The girls would use their dual citizenship to compete for a country they hadn’t visited for many years.

“It was more of a, ‘Why not give it a shot, it can’t hurt anything’ type thing and see how it goes,” Kaitlin said.

The girls sent their names in with their times last fall, which went under an evaluation, something they said was a “process.”

The girls found out they made the team in the spring. 

After Imelda recorded the best time standard and the national record in the 50 breaststroke and the fastest 100 breaststroke, she was invited to be on the national team and compete at the Southeast Asia Games.

“Because Imelda and I are on the national team there, we got to train with the team for a while and get that experience under our belts,” Kaitlin said.

There isn’t an age limit to be on the Philippine national team, and membership on the team stays the same. It’s your times that determine if you would compete in that particular year or not. Accepting new members each year depends on how many stay from the previous year.

Imelda knows she made her family extremely proud, more so her extended family in the Philippines, often adding their mother’s maiden name into the mix when conversing.

“They would say, ‘Oh, you’re a Rabano.’ That’s my mom’s maiden name,” Imelda said. “You’re Imelda Corazon Rabano Wistey.”

The girls’ father was not able to go on the trip with them because of work, but they stayed in contact through the Internet.

“It was tough at first because we’re close to our dad and of course we wanted him to come with us and be a part of the experience,” Imelda said. “I talked to him almost every night on Skype, and I kept communication with him throughout the games.”

The girls also faced new challenges when they were training and prepping for the competitions, especially the hot and humid weather. 

Sorenson kept coaching the girls even after they had left the country. He emailed daily workouts and often Skyped with the sisters, giving support and advice.

Even assistant swim coach Kelly Nordell helped the girls and followed along with the games. But since the girls were overseas, the two coaches couldn’t be with them and often were juggled around between new coaches, which could be a superstition among athletes.

“It was rough, not in a bad sense, just getting used to communication,” Imelda said. “I think that was the hardest thing, but after a couple days, it was pretty much smooth sailing. [The new coaches] taught me how to be flexible, and in the future not only to trust myself, but to be open-minded about what other coaches have to say.”

Imelda thinks new coaches on the national team also helped. She got new drills from those coaches that Sorenson hadn’t taught her. The new coaches also helped keep the new team motivated.

“It’s fun because there are so many opportunities and so many doors are opened for you when you compete internationally,” Sorenson said.

The experience had led both girls hungry to achieve more in the sport.

“For both Imelda and Kaitlin, it’s just given both a lot of confidence, that here in the United States they’re good swimmers but not national team level,” Sorensen said. “But they get to go to the Philippines and find out, ‘Hey, I am pretty darn good when I compare myself to all these other people in the world.”

The Wistey sisters had been too young to remember much of one side of their heritage’s homeland before the trip. But on the trip, they got to experience Philippino culture. 

“I had so much fun vacationing and seeing my mom’s side of the family. We went island hopping and wake boarding, and everything you could possibly think of that’s outdoorsy,” Kaitlin said. “It was definitely a cultural experience.”

In total, the girls had the chance to break out of their comfort zone, make new friendships and push themselves to new places that maybe wouldn’t quite happen.

“What an experience,” Sorenson said on Imelda’s spot to compete at the SEA games. “It’s a step below the Olympics, she got to march out, it [was broadcasted] on international TV, and she got introduced, that whole pomp and circumstance, those are the things you’ll remember for a lifetime.”

While Kaitlin is out currently with her injury, Imelda is still competing for times and hopes to be able to travel to the Philippines again soon.

Imelda is currently training to earn times to compete again by practicing with the team. She’s also competing in many smaller meets around Iowa to get herself mentally and physically prepared for the long-course meets in the future. Imelda, a graduate assistant, works with the coaches and the team during the season, which gives her access to pool time in Beyer.

The future seems bright regardless of the outcome, and Imelda is content.

“No matter what happens,” Imelda said. “I’ve given everything I have and given my ultimate best.”