Senior swimmer Mitchell Forde was going through a pre-race warmup routine in the Missouri pool. He was attached to a sprint-assist cord, working on his stroke.
Suddenly, a cup of water splashed on him. He looked up and saw his brother, Clayton.
Thursday marked the first time Mitchell and Clayton competed on opposite teams at a dual meet. Clayton, a freshman at Georgia, helped the Bulldogs’ men’s team edge the Tigers, 152-147.
“It was a little bit weird because it’s definitely a conflict of interest wanting to root for my team but also wanting to see him do well,” Clayton said.
The Forde brothers did not race in the same events at the meet. Mitchell was on two Missouri relays that finished in fourth place, and he also competed in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle.
Clayton finished fourth in the 1,000-yard freestyle, and he also raced in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley.
“I wish I could have swum in the same events — although not his events, my events,” Mitchell joked after the meet.
Pat Forde, Mitchell and Clayton’s father, came to the meet in a gray Missouri shirt and a black Georgia hat. He said he had conflicted emotions watching his kids swim; he wanted both brothers and both teams to do well.
“It is one of the proudest and most awkward days I’ve ever had as a parent,” he said.
The Missouri-Georgia meet had been highly anticipated in the Forde family. As soon as the teams’ schedules came out, Pat had it circled on the calendar. For Mitchell, seeing his brother helped motivate him going into the meet.
“I had been looking forward to it for a long time,” Mitchell said. “I think it got me ready to go.”
The brothers had scattered conversations throughout Clayton’s trip to Columbia. They spoke briefly Wednesday night, then again after Georgia practiced Thursday morning. The brothers also talked in the warmup pool during the meet.
After the last race of the day ended, the Georgia and Missouri swimmers lined up and shook hands. When Mitchell and Clayton met in the line, the brothers hugged.
They smiled at each other, then went their separate ways. Clayton and his teammates had to catch a plane back to Georgia.
_Edited by Theo DeRosa | tderosa@themaneater.com_