For 13 years, Moorestown High School alumnus Zach Fong traveled back and forth from Moorestown to a sports club in Medford to take private lessons and swim for a year-round program coached by well-known Medford native Allison Brick.
Fong credits Brick for the fundamental “stroke and turn” techniques he learned at a young age that have gotten him to where he is today.
After transitioning to Jersey Wahoos Swim Club in Mt. Laurel, while entering his first year in Moorestown High School, Fong swam for both MHS and year-round club program coached by the legendary John Carroll for four years.
It was Carroll who ultimately prepared him for the rigors and challenges of collegiate swimming and now a shot at competing against the likes of professional swimming icons Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, who will also be in Omaha, Neb., the last week in June for Olympic qualifying trials. Fong is now one of dozens of Olympic trial qualifiers who have come out of Carroll’s powerhouse swim program in South Jersey. While a long shot, given the stiff completion, this is either a once-in-a-lifetime experience or just the beginning for Fong.
A Moorestown Quaker graduate just last June, Fong earned a Division I swimming scholarship to the University of Virginia where he excelled both in and out of the water as a leading contributor to the team as a first-year swimmer.
Fong’s accomplishments in high school alone were very impressive, as he was team captain for the Moorestown boys swim team and the National Club Swimming Association International Team 2015, a team member NCSA International Team vs. Japan 2013, a two-time New Jersey individual state champion in 2014 and 2015, and breaking multiple school and Jersey Wahoos records
However, Fong also had a stellar first year at UVA with the following accomplishments: UVA varsity team member, championship finalist at ACC 2016, NCAA qualifier in 200 butterfly and Olympic trials qualifier in butterfly.
The Fong family will be in Omaha from June 26 to July 3 to watch Zach swim among the select few who will ultimately compete in the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August. Zach’s younger sister, Andrea, is one of the team captains for the Moorestown girls swim team this fall, and his younger brother Josh is on the Moorestown boys swim team.
