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Aug. 3—IRVINE, Calif. — Kai Joyner is traveling the world in pursuit of greatness in the pool.
After he won two state titles and set a Minnesota All-Time record at the Class 2A boys state swimming and diving meet in February during his first season with the Mayo High School boys varsity team, the incoming junior has had a busy summer with Rochester Swim Club.
In May, he was picked by the National Club Swimming Association to represent the United States and RSC on its 2026 London All-Star Team. There he had the chance to meet and compete against Olympians and other top swimmers from around the world.
"That was a huge experience for me," Joyner said. "Learned a lot at that meet. Swam pretty well. Got to swim against people with Olympic ring tattoos."
This past week, Joyner and RSC were in Irvine, Calif., for the 2026 Toyota USA Swimming National Championships, featuring pro, college and under-18 swimmers. Joyner described it as "the end-all, be-all, in terms of meets that are in the U.S."
Joyner placed second in the men's 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:48.10, beating the third-place finisher by eight one-hundredths of a second on July 29. Joyner's finish qualified him for the 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships Aug. 17-20 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He will represent the United States on a team of 20 girls and 20 boys aged 13-18.
"I hit the wall, looked up, and saw the (No. 2) next to my name, and I felt relieved," Joyner said. "(Making the Pan Pacific team) had been my goal for the last year. ... But now after the kind of feeling of relief has settled, I'm really excited to go to Vancouver and represent the U.S."
Before he heads off to Canada, he will compete individually and on relays with some of his RSC teammates in the Speedo Junior National Championships Aug. 3-7 in Irvine.
Joyner is a longtime member of RSC, which gave him his start years before he started swimming with the Spartans.
While Joyner is on track to graduate as one of the most decorated swimmers to come out of Rochester, he is also a part of the best RSC team in club history, said coach Amy Killpatrick, a former University of Minnesota swimmer who has coached Joyner for nine years.
"The first thing I will tell anybody is that they're all very committed, and they do all the little things that are kind of hard, too," Killpatrick said. "But I think we've just had a lot of things that have built over time. ... There's a lot of good consistency and relationship building, and I think that makes the kids feel safe and puts them in a good position to grow and be successful."
At Speedo Junior Nationals this week, Joyner will swim alongside fellow RSC members, including incoming Mayo freshman Elliot Leasure, and 2026 graduates Brent Dahl (Austin), Sophie Blixt (Century) and Eli Holmes (Century).
"This season's kind of been like the last dance," Joyner said. "I think that this is something that not just me, but I think the whole team, we've been working towards. ... When I was little, these guys (Dahl, Holmes and 2026 Century grad Grady Bargfrede) were two years older than me, and they were the people that I was looking up to.
"I'm going to miss them a lot, ... but this summer in general, it's been really fun. It's been a great way to kind of send them off for their next chapter."
Despite graduating a large group this year, Joyner said RSC has a bright future.
"I truly think that we have the best training group in the state of Minnesota in terms of club swimming," Joyner said. "I think that that future wouldn't be bright without some of the seniors that we have. I think that they've really been great role models to some of the younger kids on the team, and that includes me."
With each meet, competition and swim, Joyner is closer to his ultimate goal of becoming an Olympian, which starts with qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2028.
"I'm just super grateful for the opportunity that USA Swimming has given me to represent the U.S. on a national stage," Joyner said of the Pan Pacific meet. "Obviously, I'd love to come away from the meet with some medals, ... but I think that this is going to be a really good stepping stone, just like the meet in London was. ... In a couple years down the road when I'm trying to make Olympic teams and world championship teams, it'll be a great experience to lean on ... in these high-pressure situations."
Joyner said he couldn't reach his goals without the support from the swimming community in Rochester, which includes his teammates and his high school and club team coaches.
Despite his rigorous training schedule, Joyner said it is important for him to spend time out of the pool. Golfing with his friends and teammates is one way to do so.
"I think that that's the biggest way that I manage the success that I have; it's honestly stepping away from it a little bit and realizing that swimming is a huge part of my life, but it's not my whole life," he said.
Joyner is one of the few swimmers from Rochester to ever receive this level of national and international recognition, but he hopes he is not the last.
"I don't want it to stop after me," Joyner said. "I want to continue it, and I think that if we can have these young kids that are stepping into the sport see the support system and the (club) team that we have, and I guess how that's helped lead to my success, I think that it can be a big thing for the future generations as well."
Continue reading...
After he won two state titles and set a Minnesota All-Time record at the Class 2A boys state swimming and diving meet in February during his first season with the Mayo High School boys varsity team, the incoming junior has had a busy summer with Rochester Swim Club.
In May, he was picked by the National Club Swimming Association to represent the United States and RSC on its 2026 London All-Star Team. There he had the chance to meet and compete against Olympians and other top swimmers from around the world.
"That was a huge experience for me," Joyner said. "Learned a lot at that meet. Swam pretty well. Got to swim against people with Olympic ring tattoos."
This past week, Joyner and RSC were in Irvine, Calif., for the 2026 Toyota USA Swimming National Championships, featuring pro, college and under-18 swimmers. Joyner described it as "the end-all, be-all, in terms of meets that are in the U.S."
Joyner placed second in the men's 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:48.10, beating the third-place finisher by eight one-hundredths of a second on July 29. Joyner's finish qualified him for the 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships Aug. 17-20 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He will represent the United States on a team of 20 girls and 20 boys aged 13-18.
"I hit the wall, looked up, and saw the (No. 2) next to my name, and I felt relieved," Joyner said. "(Making the Pan Pacific team) had been my goal for the last year. ... But now after the kind of feeling of relief has settled, I'm really excited to go to Vancouver and represent the U.S."
Before he heads off to Canada, he will compete individually and on relays with some of his RSC teammates in the Speedo Junior National Championships Aug. 3-7 in Irvine.
Joyner is a longtime member of RSC, which gave him his start years before he started swimming with the Spartans.
While Joyner is on track to graduate as one of the most decorated swimmers to come out of Rochester, he is also a part of the best RSC team in club history, said coach Amy Killpatrick, a former University of Minnesota swimmer who has coached Joyner for nine years.
"The first thing I will tell anybody is that they're all very committed, and they do all the little things that are kind of hard, too," Killpatrick said. "But I think we've just had a lot of things that have built over time. ... There's a lot of good consistency and relationship building, and I think that makes the kids feel safe and puts them in a good position to grow and be successful."
At Speedo Junior Nationals this week, Joyner will swim alongside fellow RSC members, including incoming Mayo freshman Elliot Leasure, and 2026 graduates Brent Dahl (Austin), Sophie Blixt (Century) and Eli Holmes (Century).
"This season's kind of been like the last dance," Joyner said. "I think that this is something that not just me, but I think the whole team, we've been working towards. ... When I was little, these guys (Dahl, Holmes and 2026 Century grad Grady Bargfrede) were two years older than me, and they were the people that I was looking up to.
"I'm going to miss them a lot, ... but this summer in general, it's been really fun. It's been a great way to kind of send them off for their next chapter."
Despite graduating a large group this year, Joyner said RSC has a bright future.
"I truly think that we have the best training group in the state of Minnesota in terms of club swimming," Joyner said. "I think that that future wouldn't be bright without some of the seniors that we have. I think that they've really been great role models to some of the younger kids on the team, and that includes me."
With each meet, competition and swim, Joyner is closer to his ultimate goal of becoming an Olympian, which starts with qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2028.
"I'm just super grateful for the opportunity that USA Swimming has given me to represent the U.S. on a national stage," Joyner said of the Pan Pacific meet. "Obviously, I'd love to come away from the meet with some medals, ... but I think that this is going to be a really good stepping stone, just like the meet in London was. ... In a couple years down the road when I'm trying to make Olympic teams and world championship teams, it'll be a great experience to lean on ... in these high-pressure situations."
Joyner said he couldn't reach his goals without the support from the swimming community in Rochester, which includes his teammates and his high school and club team coaches.
Despite his rigorous training schedule, Joyner said it is important for him to spend time out of the pool. Golfing with his friends and teammates is one way to do so.
"I think that that's the biggest way that I manage the success that I have; it's honestly stepping away from it a little bit and realizing that swimming is a huge part of my life, but it's not my whole life," he said.
Joyner is one of the few swimmers from Rochester to ever receive this level of national and international recognition, but he hopes he is not the last.
"I don't want it to stop after me," Joyner said. "I want to continue it, and I think that if we can have these young kids that are stepping into the sport see the support system and the (club) team that we have, and I guess how that's helped lead to my success, I think that it can be a big thing for the future generations as well."
Continue reading...
