A childhood obsession with sharks and marine biology symbolized early signs of a career in the pool. Even his baseball nickname, “The Iceman,” pointed toward water.

Now, as the American 100-yard breaststroke record holder, Ian Finnerty looks through his pink goggles at the path to the 2020 Olympics.

Born in Bloomington, Finnerty began his life at IU as a toddler beneath his mother’s desk during meetings. He kept himself occupied with an array of different interests. Dinosaurs and sharks were some of the first.

“We had millions of those tiny plastic sharks and dinosaurs,” said Dina Adkins, Finnerty’s mom. “You could give him five of them, bring him in here and have any kind of meeting you needed to have. He was an excellent baby.”

Read more from Sam Bodnar at the Indiana Daily Student.