It was during the 2015 500 free junior nationals that senior Emma McCarthy suffered from an asthma attack.

“I started to feel my chest tighten up around lap five, and by lap nine I couldn’t breathe anymore.  The lifeguards pulled me out. My vision was going out. I could only see what was directly in front of me. I was shaking until the paramedics got there and put me in a gurney and rolled me out,” McCarthy said.

Though McCarthy continues to train, perform and excel in the 500 free, and she remembers this experience every time she competes in this specific race.

McCarthy has led the girls’ swim team to success in the past four years as both a four-year captain, MVP, and top scorer. And McCarthy’s swim career is far from over, as she will be swimming Division I for University of Arizona this coming fall, after signing in 2014.

Out of the four years that McCarthy led the girls’ team, they won MCALs three times, only falling short to Marin Catholic in the 2014 season.

Additionally, McCarthy has qualified for and participated in, the NCS swim meet ever since her freshman year.

When McCarthy began swimming in sixth grade, she quickly fell in love with the sport.

“I became obsessed with swimming,” McCarthy said. “I would go on my computer and look up swimming videos and everything was about swimming. I read all the swimming books and I got all the swimming magazines and I would take them to school and read them in class.”

Though McCarthy plays an important role in the Redwood swim program, she also swims year round for the club team North Bay Aquatics, where she practices six times a week.

During the Redwood season, McCarthy continues to practice with her club team, but trains with Redwood once a week and competes in high school meets.

McCarthy saw this year’s team as the most successful of her four years.

“This year was our best team, not in terms of speed but the way that we all worked together and how cohesive we were. It was definitely my favorite team out of the four years that I have been at Redwood,” McCarthy said.

Recently, McCarthy raced in the first-ever CIF state meet, where she placed sixth in the 200 yard freestyle.

“I felt like I was part of history because it was the first [state meet] and it is going to be something that they continue to do,” McCarthy said. “I was also fortunate enough to medal and podium at that meet.”

She was joined by teammates freshman Claire Birchenough, senior Elizabeth Duncan, and junior Monica Sears for the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay, in which they placed sixth and eighth, respectively.

According to Redwood head coach Fred Ferroggiaro, McCarthy has become the backbone of the varsity team.

“She is almost a legend,” Ferroggiaro said. “She has friendships throughout the swimming world and she is Emma McCarthy. People are drawn to her and her talent. Emma has been the cornerstone for the four years she has been here. And I don’t mean just the girls’ team, I mean for the entire program.”

McCarthy’s accomplishments aren’t limited to the high school team: she consistently competes at the Junior National level. She first qualified for Nationals in the 200 freestyle freshman year and has now been to eight national meets. Next year, she is looking forward to competing for the University of Arizona,  which placed 11th in the NCAA championship on Feb. 16.

“I’m really thrilled to be competing on one of the top DI teams in the country. It’s a really special thing and a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am definitely going to join that team at the bottom of the totem pole,” McCarthy said. “I am really looking forward to being able to work my way up to the top because that’s what drives me.  Being able to look at people and think ‘I am going to swim like you one day,’ and being able to train next to them is a completely different ballgame.”