Lucy Art competes in the FISU America Games in Cali, Colombia.

Lucy Art ’27, who has raised eyebrows with her success on the Colgate swimming & diving team, was presented with an opportunity last fall she couldn’t pass up: Competing on the world stage. 

Art, a neuroscience major from Milwaukee, participated in the FISU America Games in Cali, Colombia from Nov. 5-7 as part of a U.S. delegation made up of Patriot League swimmers.

She was Colgate’s lone representative on a 26-member squad featuring swimmers and coaches from American, Boston University, Lehigh, and Loyola. Greyhounds head coach Brian Loeffler was tapped to helm the team.

For Art, it was her first time competing in an international meet. And she made the most of the opportunity, taking home four medals — gold in the 400 mixed medley relay, and silver in the 400 mixed free relay, 400 medley relay, and 100 free.

“It was so much fun to be on a team with people you usually race against in the Patriot League,” Art said. “I was so grateful to be chosen alongside some very fast swimmers from other schools in the Patriot League."

Student-athletes had to adjust to a long course that included 50s of stroke and mixed relays, which aren’t usually in normal college meets, Art said.

While the competition was a good challenge for Art, another highlight was meeting athletes from other nations.

“Throughout the meet I met people from a lot of different countries and traded country pins with them,” she said.

Known as the International University Sports Federation, the FISU included swimmers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, the U.S., Uruguay, and Venezuela. 

The FISU, formed in 1949, allows college-level athletes from around the globe to compete against one another in a world-class setting. Along with facing high-level competition, athletes have the chance to visit new places and connect with students from other countries. 

Lucy Art (far left) and swimmers from Brazil and Colombia with their medals.

Colgate swimming & diving head coach Ed Pretre said he was happy for Art when she was invited to join the U.S. team.

“When this opportunity first came up, Lucy and I chatted about it and the exciting part was the opportunity to be part of something special, especially when you get the chance to represent your country,” he said. 

“That’s a rare opportunity that anyone really gets to achieve,” he said. “Lucy certainly has earned that, with her constant hard work and dedication to detail, especially all of the little things that make her a special athlete.”

Pretre said Art has been a different swimmer since returning from Colombia.

“This experience has only made her better,” he said. “It’s pretty evident with how she has competed after going to South America. There’s a lot more confidence that’s only going to carry over for the rest of her career.”

In her first season at Colgate in 2023-24, Art emerged as a prominent student-athlete, winning bronze at the Patriot League Championships in the 100 free. She was the program’s first podium finisher since 2014. 

Now in her second season, Art is in the midst of another strong year, helping the Raiders to success. Thus far, the highlights of her season include two first-place finishes against Lafayette on Oct. 26. 

While in Colombia, Art and her conference teammates found time for a few excursions to learn more about the city of Cali, which is known for its salsa dancing. 

“We went to multiple historic churches along with a huge farmers’ market where we tried numerous kinds of local unique fruits,” she said. “We also toured around local sculptures and learned a little bit about Colombian history. Finally, our team took a salsa class, which was so much fun.”