When senior swimmer Raunak Khosla was a sophomore at Milton High School in Georgia, he was ranked outside of the top-100 nationally.
However, former men’s swim and dive head coach Rob Orr saw something in Khosla, recruiting him that year, before Khosla won two state titles later in his high school career.
Today, Khosla is the star of Princeton’s program, recently earning his third High Point Swimmer of the Ivy Championships award and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row. The High Point award is given to the best swimmer at the Ivy Championships.
Swimming has been a part of Khosla’s life since he was a child. When he was in elementary school, his older brother swam year-round while he and his twin sister swam on a summer league team.
As a kid, Khosla preferred to play lacrosse and football over swimming, but an injury caused him to spend more time in the pool, and discover his aquatic talents.
“I only really got into swimming full-time when my sister accidentally broke my arm while we were playing on a trampoline,” Khosla told The Daily Princetonian. “The only sport I could do [after] was swim.”
“At around sixth grade, I had to choose between swimming and lacrosse and I chose swimming,” he added. “After that decision, I didn’t do any other sports.”
The decision paid off, and by the end of his junior year in high school, he began to get attention from universities. Khosla took five different official visits – UC Berkeley, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Princeton — before eventually committing to Princeton in the fall of his senior year.
“I really enjoyed [Princeton men’s swim and dive] on my trip and felt like they were all really close,” Khosla told the ‘Prince.’
“I didn’t want to sacrifice anything academically,” he added. “I felt that I could succeed in the pool at any school, but Princeton was the place where I would be able to succeed just as much outside of the pool.”
After committing to Princeton, Khosla had a successful final high school season. He performed well at the winter juniors his senior year and made a couple top-eight finishes. Then, he secured two state titles in the 100-meter fly and 200-meter individual medley (IM). He holds the school record in both of these events. He was also invited to the National Diversity Select Camp and qualified for the U.S summer nationals.
Khosla attributes his success to his friends and coaches who supported him throughout high school.
“The success … was due to having great coaches at Dynamo,” Khosla said, referring to his club swim team. “They really believed in me, and I also had a great group of friends who were also really into swimming.”
Before coming to Princeton, Khosla also had the opportunity to attend the Olympic Training Center with his friends from his club team. While he described it as a “brutal training trip,” he says he enjoyed every second and was amazed to see where Olympic athletes trained.
When Khosla arrived at Princeton, his impact was felt straight away on the Tigers’ squad. He was named First Team All-Ivy in the 200 IM (1:42.80) and the 200 butterfly (1:42.05) during his first year.
Adjusting to college swimming life was not an easy task, though. The swim and dive team at Princeton has one of the most rigorous schedules on campus, as the squad practices about four hours a day with many days consisting of morning and evening training.
“There is always a chance of burnout when you’re training 20-plus hours a week and trying to excel in classes," Khosla, an economics major, explained.
“I think I’ve been lucky that I never see swimming as a chore, but rather as a great outlet. It honestly helps me with the stress of school and vice-versa.”
His mindset clearly made a difference when he was a College Swimming and Diving Coach’s Association (CSCAA) All-American in the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 fly his sophomore year. He qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but unfortunately did not get to compete due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On top of this, he also earned his first High Point Swimmer award and was named to the Ivy League first team in those three events, setting school records for all three.
When the pandemic hit, Khosla took a gap year to preserve his eligibility, as his goal was to represent the Tigers all four years. During the gap year, he moved to the suburbs of Chicago where he trained with some of his fellow teammates. Khosla got to live on his own and train full-time, as the Ivy League canceled its 2020–21 athletics season, but he said it was still difficult not to be in the pool competitively.
“I have friends from my club team at home who swim at power-five schools, so it was hard sitting at home and watching them swim,” Khosla told the ‘Prince.’ “After talking to them and watching them swim, it just made me more excited and hungry for the next season to come.”
After over 500 days of not swimming for the Tigers, Khosla returned as a junior during the 2021–22 academic year. During the season, he secured his second High Point award. He once again got First Team All-Ivy for his three main events (200 IM, 200 fly, 400 IM) and secured an honorable mention All-American in all three events for the first time in his career.
At the end of the season, he also received the Dermod F. Quinn Memorial Award, which is “given to a member of the swimming team who best illustrates the qualities of intense determination and effort in workouts and who has provided a constant source of inspiration by his performance in practices.”
So far this year, Khosla has had a very strong showing. He secured his third High Point Swimmer award recently at Ivy Championships, as well as the Harold Ulen Career award, having amassed 380 career points at the Ivy League championships.
Along with getting named to the All-Ivy First Team in his three main events, he added a fourth event this season: the 800-meter freestyle relay.
Khosla also qualified for the NCAA championships along with fellow Tiger and junior Nicholas Lim.
“I am trying to soak in the moment the best I can. I know how special the opportunity is and I just want to make the most of it,” Khosla told the ‘Prince.’ “I try not to put any pressure on myself, and when I do feel pressure I like to think how far I’ve come from freshman year.”
He added that he is excited to cheer on his teammate as well.
“We had [Lim] qualify this year so I am really excited for him. I always love watching my teammates swim so it will be a great time.”
The NCAA championships kicked off Wednesday, Mar. 22 in Minneapolis, Minn.
“Swimming has taken me to places I never could have imagined so I am really just trying to enjoy these last couple weeks,” Khosla added. “I know I will always be connected to the swimming world in one way or another, but I still don’t know if I will continue to compete after the NCAAs.”
Whether he continues to swim or starts a new chapter in life, Khosla will certainly leave a legacy behind at Princeton.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an assistant editor for the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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