by By Dan Ninham, Contributing Writer
Abi Winnicki is a member of the Forest County Potawatomi. She swam for Team Wisconsin in the North American Indigenous Games 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is going to be a senior at Rhinelander HS in Wisconsin. Her future after high school may include NCAA D1 swimming.
She brought home eight medals from NAIG’23 and she has been swimming and winning since she was seven years old.
She was a member of the team state championship in 2020, and she made a verbal commitment to UCLA after high school. She also broke a 43 year old swimming record at her high school.
Winnicki also is very involved with academics and is a member of five clubs including the Key Club, NHS, Link Crew, HOSA, and Student Council.
“I work hard to be a good role model in my communities,” said Winnicki.
“Some highlights from NAIG was spending most of the days with the team and getting to know everyone,” said Winnicki.
“It was a great experience to represent Wisconsin and Forest County Potawatomi,” said Winnicki. “It allowed me to be more involved in my community and swim for something bigger than just competitive. I felt very proud and honored to get to take part in NAIG. I also represent the Rhinelander HS Hodags and enjoyed getting to share my experience.”
Winnicki’s NAIG’23 Team Wisconsin coaches were mom Marna and older sister Makenna Winnicki. “Having my mom and sister as a coach at NAIG was super nice because they know me as an athlete and made it a more special experience.”
One of our universal indigenous traditions is to acknowledge the ones who came before us. Abi followed in the swim lane of her older sister Makenna. Makenna was the captain of the 2020 WIAA state champion team and was featured in two ndnsports stories that are here:
Makenna Winnicki (Potawatomi): Competed at WIAA D2 State Swimming Meets The Past Three Years at Rhinelander HS (WI)
Makenna Winnicki (Potawatomi): Team Captain of 2020 Wisconsin D2 State Swim Champions at Rhinelander HS (WI)
Makenna won five medals at the NAIG’17 at Toronto, Canada. She is a junior at Colorado University – Boulder and it’s a non-swimming program NCAA D1 school. Makenna described her sister Abi and she said, “I started swimming when I was nine years old and continued competing for 10 years. One word I would use to describe Abi is upbeat. She always pushes through a tough practice or a long meet, but keeps a smile on her face and never failed to make me laugh.”
“I remember one time during practice, we were having a news article made about the team. We were having a tough practice, but Abi still kept us laughing. The journalist took some film footage that made it into the news of us all laughing and doing some silly little dance. I love to re-watch that clip. Abi keeps a positive attitude in practice and is a dedicated swimmer,” added Makenna.
Marna Winnicki is Abi’s and Makenna’s mother. She been assistant coach for the girls swim team at Rhinelander HS for seven years. Mom talked about her daughter Abi and swimming and said, “As a coach and her mother, Abi’s hardwork and leadership, in and out of the pool, stand out. She is senior class president, National Honor Society Vice president and a member of several other clubs. She leads by example in the pool, she swims six days a week and lifts several times a week year ‘round. Abi works hard during practices and leads warmups at meets as high school team captain.”
“In Halifax, Abi led practices during the week and could have taken the day off after two days of competition in the high heat and humidity, but was back for a two hour practice the next day,” added mom Marna.
“That type of dedication and love for the sport is what has helped her achieve her goals,” said Marna.
Note: Abi Winnicki was featured in ndnsports three years ago preparing to join the high school swim team: https://www.ndnsports.com/abi-winnicki-potawatomi-year-round-club-swimmer-ready-to-join-rhinelander-hs-wi-hodags/
Photo: Marna Winnicki
