Jennifer Ridge

Jennifer started swimming at a very early age, 6 months, when her mother started her in a program her mother taught called ‘Diaper Dolphins. This led to her starting her competitive swimming career as a seven-year-old in what was then AAU swimming. This led to her competing at Bishop Noal High School in Indiana which led her to the University of Arizona.

After her high school and college swimming experiences she quickly started entering meets as a Masters swimmer. She joined the Chicago Masters team in 1995 and posted 15 All-American swims in her first 4 years before she turned 30. An All-American swim indicates she had the fastest time in an event in her age group that year. Jennifer had an amazing 43 All-American swims as an Illinois Master from 1996 – 2012 and an additional 21 swims after joining the Minnesota Masters Club in 2015.  She currently holds 75 MN State records that span every stroke. Her favorite event is the 200 free, but she has posted top times in every stroke and all distances of the Individual Medley.

In addition to her swimming, she is on the coaching staff of the Mako Aquatics team in Hudson. She is an ASCA Level 3 coach and has been coaching for over 20 years. She credits much of her success to her husband and coaching partner Bob Young