The sound of splashing water echoes through the pool as sophomore Daniel Tolkachov cuts through lane after lane during practice. While many swimmers prefer short and explosive races, Tolkachov thrives in the exhausting world of distance swimming, where pacing, endurance, and consistency are essential.
Tolkachov, a varsity swimmer for Carlmont, specializes in long-distance swimming events such as the 500-, 1,000-, and 1,650-yard freestyle. Besides competing for Carlmont, he also swims year-round for South San Francisco Aquatics.
“I like swimming the 500 freestyle because it’s enjoyable,” Tolkachov said. “It’s a long-distance event, and I’m good at pacing.”
Unlike sprint events that rely heavily on explosiveness, distance swimming requires swimmers to maintain endurance and speed over long stretches in the water. For Tolkachov, that challenge is what makes the event so appealing.
“Something that others don’t understand about distance races is that for long-distance swimmers like me, it is not a swim where I think about whether or not I will die out,” Tolkachov said. “It’s a race where I get to use my technique to its fullest and see how much I can sprint before my body naturally withholds me because of how much experience I have swimming long distances.”
Tolkachov began swimming competitively at 11 years old, though his introduction to swimming came years earlier.
“When I initially started off swimming, I was a breaststroker,” Tolkachov said. “I learned by myself when I was six and was just casually swimming in the pool by looking and copying my dad.”
Since then, he has been steadily improving through consistent training and competitions in both club and high school swimming. Tolkachov gradually shifted toward freestyle and distance events after discovering that long-distance races suited his strengths more.
“As I started swimming competitively, I started enjoying swimming long distance, which is freestyle events only, so I started focusing mostly on free,” Tolkachov said.
During the 2025-26 season, he posted some strong times in multiple distance events, including a 17-minute, 53.73-second mark in the 1,650-yard freestyle and a 10:48.28 in the 1,000-yard freestyle. He also placed first in the 1,000-yard freestyle at the Central California Age Group Championships in February.
One of the races that stood out to Tolkachov was during his first 500 freestyle race of the high school season.
“The very first 500 freestyle I swam during the season, I started off knowing I would have to try to beat the first swimmer of the opposing high school,” Tolkachov said. “The moment I dived in, he started going at a pace far faster than how I like swimming my 500 free.”
Instead of backing off, Tolkachov adjusted his strategy and stayed with the swimmer through the early part of the race.
“I decided to keep up with him, sacrificing some of my pacing and going out really fast,” Tolkachov said. “After the first 100, his pace dropped by a lot while I stayed strong, and lap by lap, I started slowly swimming away from him.”
The race became an important moment in his high school swimming career.
“This swim was significant to me because it was my first win at a high school meet against a highly competitive opponent,” Tolkachov said.
According to sophomore Evan Ho, Tolkachov’s work ethic and attitudes stand out during practices and meets.
“Daniel stands out during practice because he is always a hard worker and encourages the people around him to work hard but still have fun at practice,” Ho said.
Ho also said Tolkachov approaches races with confidence rather than fear.
“Daniel usually gets long-distance swim events, and I would say that he approaches them with a strong attitude and isn’t discouraged by these hard events,” Ho said. “He tries to push forward by focusing on beating his best time instead of focusing on how hard the event is.”
Distance events can be exhausting, especially when swimmers must maintain a fast pace of hundreds of yards.
“Distance swimming is very difficult because your mentality plays a large role in trying to slow you down, so having a strong mentality is key to being a strong distance swimmer,” Ho said. “Daniel handles this particularly well as he sees these races as something to take a lap at a time to improve personal records.”
Carlmont sophomore Parker Timbol said Tolkachov’s commitment to distance events stands out compared to most swimmers on the team.
“I thought it was really interesting that he was a distance swimmer because I’ve never met a guy who only did distance,” Timbol said.
Timbol also emphasized how physically difficult distance races can be.
“If you’ve been in the pool, you’ll know it’s tiring to swim even a little,” Timbol said. “Now imagine doing that for 500. You have to constantly go and remember it’s a race, so you’re pushing yourself really hard for a long time. It’s really hard.”
Outside of his performances in races, people describe Tolkachov as someone who supports others and contributes positive energy to the team environment.
“Daniel is a great teammate as he always encourages everyone to do their best and thinks of swimming as a fun opportunity rather than a task or a chore that must be done,” Ho said.
Balancing school with both high school and club swimming requires a demanding schedule of practices, meets, and training. While Carlmont practices often focus more on sprinting, Tolkachov’s club training includes more distance swims. Even with the long hours and physically exhausting races, Tolkachov continues looking for ways to improve.
“The main thing I would want to improve on in swimming is my overall technique in my strokes as well as my overall strength,” Tolkachov said.
Whether he is competing for Carlmont or training with his club team, Tolkachov continues to take on the challenging demands of swimming with determination.
“The hardest part about long-distance swimming is that you need to swim a lot of mileage constantly,” Tolkachov said.
