EDWARDSVILLE - A 13-14 girls 50-yard butterfly race at the SWISA Championships Meet took on added significance Sunday, July 19, 2026, when Annie Tucker, 13, matched a first-place family milestone by winning the event in 34.53 seconds, equaling a feat her mother achieved 26 years earlier.
Annie, a member of the Collinsville Gators Swim Club, won the race by one-hundredth of a second after passing two swimmers in the final 25 yards, according to her mother, Ashley, who was timing Annie’s lane during the race. Ashley also swam for the Gators and won the same 13-14 50 girls butterfly event 26 years ago.
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“I was timing her lane this time,” Ashley said, which gave her a front-row seat to the exciting victory.
Ashley said Annie was seeded third entering the race.
“She just won by one one-hundredth of a second, so it was very exciting and very fun to watch.”
Ashley said the victory carried extra meaning because Annie has dealt with setbacks in swimming this season tied to soccer injuries.
“I would say so, just because she had ups and downs with injuries from soccer, it made it even more meaningful,” Ashley said. “It was the last race she was swimming on the day, so I told her before she got on the blocks this was her last race and give it everything you have, leave it all in the pool. She definitely was able to do that and came from pretty far behind and ended up winning.”
Ashley said it has been rewarding to watch her daughter succeed in swimming, a sport she also enjoyed. Ashley was also an outstanding women's soccer player.
“It is great to see her do the things I enjoy doing and succeeding in the same things I had success and fun with,” she said.
Ashley said she began swimming for the Gators in 1993, during her first year with the club, and stayed with the program until leaving for college. She said Annie began swimming when she was 6, and that she wanted her daughter to swim for the Gators if she took part in summer swimming.
Ashley said Annie has spent eight years swimming and has also competed in soccer at a high level. She said Annie broke her foot twice playing soccer, missing about three weeks the first time and about nine weeks the second time.
“She has been back to swimming,” Ashley said, adding that soccer had taken “the front row” between the two sports. She said Annie swam for Gateway during the winter and also competed in a couple of long-course meets with Gateway.
For now, Ashley said Annie will be focusing on soccer.
“She hasn't said she wouldn't come back to swimming," Ashley added. She said Annie has moved up to an elite St. Louis Scott Gallagher team that requires more of her time and that “soccer is her first love.”
Annie is an eighth-grade middle school student.
Ashley said she looks for Annie to be back next summer swimming the butterfly and other events for their beloved team - the Gators.
