Qualifying for the Olympic games is a journey—one that takes years of dedication, planning and of course practice. For Alberto and Alfonso Mestre, part of that journey happened at The Hill School. In fact, if you visit the scoreboards that hover above the deck in the Cunningham Pool, their legacy is still very much alive.

The Mestre Hill legacy started with their father Alberto Mestre, Sr. ’82—himself a dedicated and incredibly successful swimmer. Following in his footsteps, both boys attended Hill, chasing and breaking their father’s records in the pool and taking their work ethic into the classroom where they achieved academic success.

Amy Agnew, Hill Director of Aquatics, worked with both Mestre brothers. “Alberto and Alfonso came to Hill with impressive swimming resumes, and they were always focused on training hard to achieve their goals” remembers Agnew. “No one could deny their work ethic.”

Both boys were named The Mercury’s All Area Boys Swimmer of the Year and Alfonso, who learned to play water polo at Hill, was named both the All-American Swimmer and All-American Water Polo Player of the Year.

After their Hill careers, they both swam at the collegiate level. Alfonso, like his father, attends The University of Florida. Alberto is at Stanford, and after taking a semester off to pursue his Olympic dreams, will return to in-person classes in the fall with an anticipated December 2021 graduation.

Representing and competing for Venezuela, Alberto made his Olympic dreams a reality at the Bahamas National Championships where he posted a lifetime best in the 50 freestyle of 21.93. Alfonso’s Olympic berth came during the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico where he swam the 1500 freestyle clocking a time of 7:50.81—more than three seconds faster than the Olympic qualifying time.

Swimming events for the upcoming Games will take place from July 24 through August 1, 2021 in the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. The entire Hill community will be watching and cheering for the Mestre brothers.