Freestyle and butterfly specialist Faith Lamah has announced her verbal commitment to swim for the University of Minnesota, beginning in the fall of 2026. She trains with Edina Swim Club in Minnesota and attends Osseo High School.

Lamah confirmed the commitment to SwimSwam, writing:

I am really blessed and excited to announce my verbal commitment to the UofM. This was not a very easy decision but after meeting the coaching staff and seeing how welcoming the team was, I couldn’t imagine a better place to spend my collegiate years as a student athlete. First and foremost, I’d like to give thanks to God for guiding me towards this new chapter of my life. Thank you to my family for always believing in me and supporting me. Thank you to Coach Kelly, Coach Stacy, and the rest of the coaching staff at the UofM for giving me the opportunity to grow as a student athlete. Finally I’d like to thank Coach Barb, Coach Jeff, and Coach A for always believing in me and giving me the necessary support and training to make this happen. Go Gophers!!

Lamah has consistency dropped time throughout her high school career, but the 2024-25 season marked her biggest breakthrough. By the time she reached her final meet of the year, she had dropped nearly five seconds in the 200 fly, three and a half seconds in the 200 free, just over a second in the 100 fly, and seven tenths in the 100 free.

Her target meet was the the Minnesota Senior Short Course Championships in mid-March, where she notched all of her current lifetime bests. She secured gold medals in the 500 free (4:53.86) and 200 fly (2:00.08), while also earning runner-up finishes in the 1000 free (10:02.95), 200 free (1:47.96), and 100 fly (54.45). Additionally, she added a fourth-place showing in the 100 free (50.82).

Beyond her individual events, Lamah helped capture victories in both the 800 free relay (leadoff 1:48.44) and 400 free relay (split 50.25), as well as the medley relay with splits of 24.55 in the 50 fly and 54.51 in the 100 fly. She also delivered a personal-best 23.69 leading off the 200 free relay, helping her team touch third.

Minnesota, led by head coach Kelly Kremer, finished sixth out of 14 teams at the 2025 Women’s Big Ten Championships, a slight drop from their fifth-place finish out of 12 teams the previous year.

Lamah will be a valuable addition to the Gophers’ fly and distance groups. According to the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, she would have ranked fourth in the 100 fly, fifth in the 200 fly, 200 free, and 500 free, and ninth in the 100 free. Sophomore Claire Reinke led the way in both butterfly events with times of 52.14 and 1:55.96, while freshman Liv Wanner (48.30), sophomore Anja Kaljevic (1:45.88), and sophomore Katie McCarthy (4:46.00) were the top freestyle performers.

The Big Ten Championships score ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ finals, and to earn a slot in the ‘C’ final last year, it took times of 49.60, 1:47.11, and 4:46.00 in the 100-500 freestyles, and 53.45 and 1:59.51 in the fly events. Based on those numbers, Lamah’s best scoring opportunities appear to be the 200 free and 200 fly, and she still has another season to improve her marks before arriving in Minneapolis.

Lamah joins Claire Conklin, Sara Reppucci, Emmy Meyer, Dana Fairbanks, and Libbi McCarthy as part of Minnesota’s 2026 recruiting class.

By Sean Griffin with Swim Swam