Finding Home in Open Water

Most collegiate swimmers find their home in a pool. Sophia Bell did too, until she began open water swimming. Here is where she found a deeper connection to friends, nature, and herself. 

Recently graduated, a San Rafael native, Sophia Bell earned a B.A. in Sociology, Japanese and AAPI studies from Seventh College, with a long list of academic and athletic accolades to accompany her. In a new chapter, one thing stays the same; her home is the water.

Finding Her Way to Open Water

What began as a workaround for lack of access to swimming pools in high school became Bell’s new passion.

“Nobody was stopping us from swimming in the ocean,” she recalls. So, they went.

Through a member of the club Stephen Root, she connected with South End Rowing Club (SERC), a historic open-water community where she found new friends and dedicated training partners.

“I learned that I really enjoyed it,” Bell said. “There are people in those clubs who’ve done the Ocean Seven—seven crazy routes all over the world. It’s normal to meet someone who’s done something miraculous.”

Bell even swam alongside two UC San Diego alumni, Neda Nguyen ’12 and Ivan Kurakin ’22 in a pod through the Bay during her many practice sessions and leisure time, connecting two impactful scenes of her life together.

The open water was not just a training site; it was a new revelation for Bell and a site to develop a passion of hers.

First Taste of Competition

Bell first competed in an open water swim through the SERC. They hold an Alcatraz race that she first participated in during 2019. The swim from Alcatraz to the shore is well-known, and Bell had no trouble conquering it.

Returning from Covid-19 restrictions and pool shutdowns, in 2021 Bell bumped herself up to first place in the women’s non-wetsuit division.

She was 16.

Bell swam a 29:18, placing second overall. Unfazed by the cold water, currents, and chop of the Bay, Bell outpaced hundreds of other seasoned competitors belonging to her club.

Lake Tahoe: A Breakthrough Moment

About a year later Bell, encouraged by members of her club and close friends and family, set her sights on the Vikingsholm Swim, a 10.6-mile crossing of Lake Tahoe’s width.

The Vikingsholm is one of three official swims in Lake Tahoe. Bell swam without a wetsuit, per official rules, maintained no contact with her guide boat, and had a race official observing her swim to ratify the completion.

In August of 2022, at 17, she became the youngest and fastest female swimmer to complete the route. Her final time, 4:27.17.

To her, “it just kind of felt like a race.” Bell remembers hopping in the water and for her “everything just came together in that moment.”

This swim was not just a milestone or a cool story, but it is proof of Bell’s belonging in the world of marathon swimming. 

Strength in Support

Training for the Vikingsholm cannot be overlooked though. Bell spent numerous hours in the Bay prepping, she would swim upwards of four hours a day as time neared the race getting her body, and mind, ready.

“I spent every week in the water for at least an hour or two,” she said. “Leading up to the race, I’d spend four hours in the Bay just swimming with friends. These people had already done it or something harder. An hour in the water didn’t faze them.”

Bell was encouraged by many, including constantly a friend and her dad. The pair was one that trained with her in the Bay before making the trip to Tahoe to provide the same camaraderie during the real test. 

“It was comforting, especially when like things were getting tough,” Bell said when talking about those who swam with her or watched earnestly from the boat. 

A Training Transition

A month after her historic swim, Bell began school at UC San Diego. She quickly switched gears to pool swimming and rapidly rose to be one of the Tritons’ strongest Division I distance swimmers.

Over the course of four years Bell claimed three conference podium finishes in her best event, the 1650 freestyle.

At her last conference championship Bell clocked her fastest time yet, a 16:41. The decorated distance swimmer improved from a 17:07 in high school during her training with UC San Diego.

Training alongside another open water swimmer, Juli Arzave, Bell had someone to look up to. Bell expresses how she would not have been the swimmer she became without Juli beside her. 

However, even as she thrived in the pool, open water remained her reset button. 

Rooted in Identity

Even with college swimming behind her, Bell know she is not done with long swims. She found a new approach.

 “My competitive swimming chapter is done for now,” she said. “But marathon swimming is just you against yourself. I’ll keep doing weekly open-water swims with my group in the Bay. It’s refreshing. It feels like home.”

A swim she hopes to complete is one in her mother’s homeland, Japan, where Bell has spent much time already. 

During a summer abroad last year she taught Japanese children English through the Tokyo YMCA as a staff intern. Remaining connected to her culture and identity, she now works for the Japanese American Citizens League in San Francisco.

Bell hopes to employ her degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with minors in Japanese and AAPI studies, to pursue a career in supporting underserved communities, specifically mixed-race and multicultural populations.

A Life Shaped by Water

Bell does not simply show a story of athletic milestones. Her story is about transformation and a sense of belonging that she forged in more areas than one.

Open water swimming is not an all-consuming flame for Bell, but it allows her to feel a connection with nature, a sense of peace. “It was almost spiritual and I had a greater appreciation for where I live,” Bell recalls about swimming in the the ocean. As a prescence of peace for Bell she pushed past normal limits, putting in long hours to make her mark on a swim like the Volkingsholm, develop meaningful relationships with UC San Diego teammates, hone her technical skills, and find a deeper connection to herself.

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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.