Coral Springs swimmer breaks records, reflects on perseverance as student-athlete
Marcus Johnson didn’t plan to swim on a college team after what he felt was a disappointing senior season in high school.
But, after finding his community as a student at a two-year junior college, the longtime Coral Springs resident recently broke two national swimming records — and he has no plans to slow down.
Johnson spoke with the Coral Springs News on March 18 about his journey as a student-athlete and what’s next for him as he prepares to head to Florida State University, where he will compete as a Division I swimmer.
Falling out of — and back in — love with swimming
Johnson described being “shut-in” for much of his time at Boca Raton High School and the burnout that followed.
“I realized I don’t have to be as enclosed in my sport,” he said. “I need to just branch out, just relax a little bit.”
Rebalancing was an important part of his ability to continue in the sport, Johnson said. Picking up other activities and building strong friendships kept him going, but he wasn’t sure that he could compete on the college level.
“I was just like, I don’t really know if I want to do this anymore,” he said.
But, with encouragement from his friends and parents, he decided to attend Indian River State College in Fort Pierce as a walk-on member of their historically dominant aquatics team.
“I actually found my love for sport again,” Johnson said.
He was able to have fun while competing with his teammates and prove his abilities at the same time.
“The friendships just gave me the drive for the sport that I didn’t have my senior year [of high school],” he said. “Me and my friend Kito [Campbell], we’ve been talking about it — one of us needs to break the record because it’s been there for 10-plus years.”
A record-breaking season
In his second year at Indian River, Johnson got faster. At the beginning of 2026, at a meet in Fort Myers, he broke the 53-second barrier in the 100-yard breaststroke, a major milestone used to identify national-level competitors.
In the weeks leading up to the national competition, he was fractions of a second from beating the division’s 50-yard breaststroke record.
“After that, I just put my head down and started training to the max every day,” he said. “I got this massive piece of paper. I stuck it on my door. I knew what every [record] time was.”
On March 5, the second day of the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) championships, Johnson was getting ready to swim when his earbuds died. While sitting in the tent behind the starting blocks, he decided to play the song he was looking for out loud anyway.
“I was playing ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’ by Rihanna,” he said. “I’m jamming out in my head, and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m ready to go.’”
Johnson broke the NJCAA 100-yard breaststroke record minutes later — then did it again that evening, setting the new bar at 51.72 seconds. He also set the NJCAA 50-yard breaststroke record with a 23.81-second swim.
“As soon as I touched the wall, I looked at the scoreboard, and it’s just like, sigh of relief. I got it,” he said.
Johnson and teammates Noah Smith, Zackary Gresham and Oliver Nell also broke the 400-yard medley relay record at the competition in helping Indian River State College win its 52nd NJCAA national title.
What’s next?
The 2025-26 NJCAA Male Swimmer of the Year, Johnson is studying physical education at Indian River State College and plans to study sports nutrition at FSU. Thanks to dual citizenship through his mother, he’s also considering trying out for the Swedish national team.
He hopes to stay in the athletic world, likely as a trainer or physical therapist.
He had this advice to offer young athletes: “No matter how hard things get, like, just don’t quit. Like, I know, in my case, like I almost did, and I’m very happy that I didn’t. And I have people around me to push me to, you know, get me to this point. So really, just, I would just tell that person just don’t stop. Just keep going.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 9:20 AM.
