IRVINE, Calif. — If you want to fully appreciate the beguiling beauty of breaststroke, the quirkiest of swimming disciplines, consider where the fastest American man and woman were four years ago.
McKenzie Siroky, who Thursday night won the gold medal in the women’s 100 breast at the Pan Pacific Championships, was a hockey player who had committed to play collegiately at Minnesota-Duluth—a serious hockey school. Her swimming career consisted of summer club and high school teams. She had never been a year-round swimmer to that point and never competed in a long-course pool (50 meters).
