For high-powered lawyers, it’s usually sink or swim. But with the 2015 Aquatics Championships underway in Kazan, Russia, two U.S. swimmers with Am Law 100 connections are showing how some legal pros take the phrase a bit more literally than others.

On Tuesday, The Daily Journal of Vineland, New Jersey, reported on the journey of Washington and Lee University School of Law graduate Brendan McHugh to the world championships. McHugh, a U.S. national team member from the Philadelphia suburb of Sicklerville, New Jersey, last month posted the second-fastest time for an American swimmer in a non-Olympic event this year.