‘We’re a team’: High school twins boast best 400-meter dash times in their state

Sharma Sampatmal 

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG/Gray News) – Twin siblings in Iowa share impressive athletic abilities and claim the best times for the 400-meter dash in their state.

Sidney and Addison Swartzendruber have been going stride for stride from the day they were born.

Ever since they started turning heads at John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, they’ve elicited some confusion.

“Our parents are asked about it a lot. They’ve had people sitting behind them like ‘What? She’s running a race? She just finished the 400′,” Addison told KCRG.

Fortunately for the twins, their track and field coach Duane Wampole said he can tell the two apart.

He’s also lucky to have two of the best runners in the state.

The twins reportedly boast Iowa’s best times in the 400-meter dash, with Sidney running 56.33 and Addison clocking in at 57.18. The two said their biggest competition is each other.

“We’ve been competitive with each other all the time,” Sidney said. “She does something then I wanna do it, I do something then she wants to do it.”

The girls run neck and neck but their skill sets are a little different.

“They are individuals,” Wampole said. “Sidney is a little more on the aerobic end of the spectrum, and Addison more on the power strength end of it.”

Addison is a top sprinter, with a personal best of 25.99 in the 200-meter dash, which is second in the high school’s history.

Sidney has the top half-mile time in the state with a run of 2.15.03

Both of the girls will participate in the Drake Relays, one of the top outdoor track and field events and held in Des Moines.

“[Drake Stadium] is one of my favorite places ever, we’ve been going there since we started doing track,” Sidney said.

Addison said their father pulled them both out of school at the age of 9 to go watch the event.

“We’ve always grown up and watched other people compete there, so it’s really special to run there ourselves,” she said.

Despite the fierce competition on and off the track, the twins said one thing is for certain: They are a team.

“I love competing against Addison, but she’s a teammate,” Sidney said. “I think that’s the best part. When we were growing up, it was always me against her, but now we’re a team.”

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