Giada Garofalo was a bit of a latecomer to swimming, and honestly athletics in general. But once she dove headfirst into the lanes of liquid, she sunk her teeth into the persistent pursuit of personal accolades and has established herself as a standout competitor in the SCC for the North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team.

Giada admits she did not participate in too many sports during her childhood. Yet around seventh grade, she took her first dip into the waters of competitive swimming with a club team, and then she later joined the Nighthawks as a freshman upon entering high school.

A year ago, Giada was a finalist at both the SCC and Class M State Championship as a junior. This season, she has picked up right where she had left off by recording four victories in the 100 backstroke during the Nighthawks’ inaugural four meets of 2024. The captain has also earned a bid to the Class M meet in the 50 and 100 freestyles, and the 100 backstroke.

“I always liked how independent swimming is. You are not really relying on your teammates, even though you are trying to score points for your team in a meet, and so it gives you a great chance to improve and have personal record times,” says Giada. “I have done well by just sticking with the sport and trying hard every day in practice. It is also about being focused on goals that I want to achieve, such as making the state finals in events.”

That aforementioned trio of heats happen to be Giada’s primary passions when it comes to the pool. She loves the quick dashes through the water while finding her form and showcasing her physicality as a swimmer–including tweaking the little but important things to help her thrive.

“The 50 free, 100 free, and 100 backstroke are my favorite events. I like how they are all sprinting events, so they are quicker, and I like the strokes more,” Giada says. “In the 100 backstroke, my success this year has come from fixing my technique and getting physically stronger. I have just been practicing every day and applying what I practice in races.”

The sport of high school swimming brings an interesting dynamic to it when balancing the perspective from team to individual. Giada uses that to benefit her thought process when it comes to assessing any given day.

“I have grown to think about things more in terms of me improving, rather than our team’s record. If we lose a meet, I do not focus on the fact that we lost, which has helped me mentally,” Giada says. “Whenever I am not having a good race or make mistakes, I think about how I will get another chance to prove myself and that better days will come.”

Heavy is the head of the person who wears the crown or any title on a club–something Giada is very mindful of. She adds that as a captain for the Nighthawks, Giada is looking to build the bonds by connecting with every team member.

“I enjoy being a leader for this team, and I know it comes with a lot of responsibility,” says Giada. “My goals as a captain are to keep up the team bonding and getting to know everyone on the team. I also want to push everyone to get better together and help everyone work towards their goals.”

North Haven girls’ swimming Head Coach Ken Pierson proclaims that Giada has established herself as an impactful leader of the team in all facets of the program. She also has an uncanny ability to curtail a negative and construct it into a positive for herself and others.

“Giada is a hard worker and great leader of the team,” says Pierson. “She organizes team fundraisers and helps with working on starts and turns with the younger swimmers. Since our pool has been closed this season so far for a new roof, she has made sure the team has bonded during our travels to various locations daily for practice.”

Giada has seen herself grab gains in two important physical attributes that help swimmers shave seconds off their marks. As she also knows the road to improvement has no stop sign, she additionally wants her colleagues to keep pursuing their main objectives and vie to join her in the postseason.

“I feel I have improved in my physical body strength, which is an important part of swimming that impacts times. I have also gotten better at my technique. I also want to improve on those same things because you can never have perfect body strength and technique,” says Giada. “Going forward this year, I want to place well at the state finals. For the team, I want us to get as many people as we can to the SCC Championships and state finals while supporting each other.”