Brick by brick Jonny Kulow has built a successful and inspiring ASU swim career

(Photo: Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Nerves started to hit Arizona State senior Jonny Kulow as he waited outside the pool at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in North Carolina during the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay at the 2026 Big 12 Swim and Dive Championship.

The previous day, in the preliminary round, Kulow and his teammates were just 0.18 seconds away from the NCAA record.

With the record in reach, he trusted that he and his teammates, junior Ilya Kharun, graduate Adam Chaney and graduate Remi Fabiani, would all swim at their very best. They’d been doing it all season.

After Kharun’s 40.8-second opening leg, he knew it was possible, but the thoughts of failing crept in, accompanying the nerves.

Kulow immediately silenced them by going back to what head coach Herbie Behm told him and his teammates throughout the season: live in the moment and focus on the now.

“He harps on it all season,” Kulow said. ”At those moments where you’re like ‘everybody’s done their job, what if I’m the one that messes it up?’ Just constantly hammering at that mindset of doing what you need to do, when it’s time to do it, the whole season, just makes it so (much) easier.”

Kulow took off from the blocks with his three teammates having done their part, and it was up to him to match their times.

He met their expectations in the first 25 yards, swimming the first length of the pool in 8.45 seconds – the fastest 25-yard split that day. Kharun might’ve swam a great time, but Kulow’s was even better at 40.08.

Behind Kulow’s rhythmic strokes in the water, the team broke Tennessee’s 2:42.30 record by just 0:00.15, giving them a career achievement driven by hard work and a strong will.

While race days offer opportunities for record-breaking moments, Kulow and his teammates often find practice more demanding. Swimmers can log 5000-7000 yards in morning workouts and do the same, if not more, in the evening at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Kulow is always in the upper echelon of these workouts, becoming the best version of himself while competing alongside Olympic medalists like Kharun.

“The guys that I’m racing every day in practice are just as good, if not better, than anybody else that I face,” Kulow said. “So going up against them, head-to-head, you kind of know where you stand.”

Knowing where he stands is something that Kulow hasn’t always felt.

He won 11 Wyoming State Championships while attending Lander Valley High School. He was the No. 1 swimmer in the state in 2022 and was ranked 43rd nationally.

“How can I be the next Jonny Kulow?” is something kids ask Lander Valley swimming head coach Shawna Morgan.

But Kulow, in his mind, didn’t feel deserving of those top rankings.

“I wasn’t an outstanding recruit,” Kulow said.

On the collegiate stage, however, he quickly proved he belonged.

2023 was Kulow’s first year with the team, and he was eager to make a name for himself. He finished the season as the men’s Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and helped the team win its first conference championship.

“I remember how excited the seniors were on that team,” Kulow said. “That was their career goal. Being able to do that all four years, and now me being a senior and looking back … it’s really incredible, kind of surreal.”

The ASU record books are littered with Kulow’s name. He first etched his name in the records in 2023 for the ninth fastest 100-yard butterfly time at 45.30, and has since been included on 17 more occasions. He has times in the freestyle and the relays, his favorite events.

Kulow was told by Behm that he would be anchoring the 400 relay on the morning of the last day of the Big 12 championships. The announcement of him being on the team and his positioning came as no surprise; he was in the same position in 2025, but the pressure was still there. Having teammates makes it easier to handle that level of pressure.

“Those are extremely stressful,” Kulow said. “Getting up to go off on a relay, knowing you got three guys who you literally bled with for the past nine months, and we’re all just gonna rip it, makes it a lot easier to go. You’re able to spread that stress out on three other guys, so that’s really, really helpful.”

Channelling the stress of swimming at a high level and turning it into success has made Kulow one of ASU’s finest swimmers. In 2025, he was named the men’s Swimmer of the Meet at the Big 12 Championships. He then helped ASU win its first NCAA championship. Kulow is hoping to replicate the success heading into this year’s NCAAs, March 25-28 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

“Our paramount goal has always been the NCAAs,” Kulow said. “Personally, I enjoy the moment, and I soak it in, but it’s another brick on the pile.”

When Kulow leaves ASU after the season, he will begin training for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, vying for a spot on Team USA in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle. And while he might be gone, his hope is for his journey as a Sun Devil to inspire others to put their head down and embrace the challenge of continued success that he and his team have established.

“I hope that for those guys who are kind of questioning, they have that impostor syndrome, if they really belong on a team like this, I hope that they can look at what I’ve been able to do and what pretty much everybody else has been able to … and really just buy into it,” Kulow said.