Karin Colby

Biography

Karin Colby (née Brown) has led the Swarthmore College men's and women's swimming programs since the fall of 2015. Both programs have experienced a dramatic rise over her tenure, breaking records, clinching titles, and growing Swarthmore's presence at the NCAA Championships. Colby has led the women's program to Conference Championship team titles in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 the program's first since 2002. The women have recorded a 69-13 dual meet record, including an undefeated Centennial Conference dual meet record dating back to November 2018. All 23 of the College's records and 170 of 190 All-Time Top Ten performances have been established in Colby's tenure. Prior to arriving at Swarthmore, Colby was the Acting Head Coach and Associate Head Coach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, Colby helped the men's and women's programs earn four top-ten team finishes at the NCAA Championships and capture consecutive NEWMAC team titles. Colby spent five years as the assistant swimming and diving coach at Amherst College. During her time, the programs produced 13 individual NCAA champions and nine top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Championships. Colby was an accomplished collegiate swimmer at Carleton College. She was a 15-time All-MIAC selection, two-year team captain, and a NCAA Division III Championship qualifier.