“I started swimming competitively at age five. I started swimming because my sister was shy when she was younger and so my parents thought it’d be a good idea to put her in a sport where she’d kind of get to break out of her shell.I’m two years younger and was jealous of her getting timed and everything, so I think my parents decided to encourage me to join so I could break out of my shell as well just to get a competitive edge.” Townsend said