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Heidi Voigt

Women's Swimming and Diving Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

National Girls & Women in Sports Day: Heidi Voigt

National Girls & Women in Sports Day is celebrated annually on the first Wednesday of February. This day is dedicated to recognizing female athletic achievements and promoting opportunities for girls in sports.

Today, the NMU Athletics Department is celebrating girls and women, both past and present, to honor the achievements of women in sports, acknowledge the impact of sports participation, and advocate for equality and inclusion for girls in athletics.

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- "The minute I started swimming, I really could never imagine my life without being involved in the sport."

From the moment she jumped into a pool, Heidi Voigt knew that she found something special. 

Voigt graduated from the University of Washington in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in athletic training, where she was a team captain of the swim and dive team. While swimming for the Huskies, Voigt was voted the Most Inspirational Swimmer for three consecutive years, and would later go on to earn a Master's degree in health and kinesiology from Wyoming in 2005.

While Voigt acknowledged that "Olympic swimmers are always the standard for swimming role models", she gives the credit to her parents, and especially her mother. Voigt holds National Girls and Women in Sports Day as a powerful reminder that women's sports have come a long way in her lifetime. 

"I think it's very important to recognize that women in sports have not always been appreciated or supported. My mother in high school was only offered Tennis and Cheerleading, and I think she would have been a fierce competitor if given a chance in sports. People need to know it hasn't been that long ago that women were allowed to participate." 

"She never let me think for a moment I could be any less."

Voigt is currently in her 23rd season as a collegiate coach and has been with the Wildcats since the 2010/11 season. Voigt is a highly decorated coach with multiple GLIAC Coach of the Year honors and has served as an NCAA Division II Men's and Women's representative on the Collegiate Swim Coaches Association Board.

Under Voigt's leadership, NMU swimming and diving has consistently excelled at the conference and national levels. In recent seasons, both programs have regularly finished in the top three at the GLIAC Championships and produced numerous individual champions, All-Americans, and Academic All-Americans. At last season's NCAA Championships, Voigt oversaw three medals and 21 All-American honors.

Voigt takes pride in her head coaching career and longevity at the collegiate level, all while hoping to continue paving the way for future female coaches across the world

"I am the only head coach who is a woman for swimming and diving in the GLIAC, and there are few represented at the NCAA level. I think it's important to be present to show younger women coaches that you can be a head coach and not always the assistant to a male. My goal now as a coach is to show my women that you can have a family and be a coach or work in their chosen passion."



 
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