Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2025
Anicka Delgado was born June 13, 2002 in Shakopee. She is an American and Ecuadorian swimmer. Born in the United States, she represents Ecuador internationally. Anicka is a swimmer who has competed for Ecuador. She competed at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Her father, Felipe Delgado, is a two-time Olympian in swimming, while her uncle, Jorge Delgado, competed at the Olympic Games in 1972 and 1976.
According to an article at Evolution Swim Academy, Felipe noted, “My brothers and I are second-generation Americans … My mother, a high school graduate, would end up working at a place where she worked with sheet metal (not sure exactly what she did) and would later go on to work the graveyard shift at a cemetery … My father, who did not graduate high school but has a PhD in street smarts, worked ramp at Western Airlines at LAX. ‘Ramp’ is a fancy name for the guys that unload the baggage and sanitize the plane in between flights. We lived in Los Angeles, Watts and South Gate to be exact. There were four boys, mom, dad, a nanny and a dog in our family.
“We should have never been swimmers. Neither of my parents were swimmers and if it had not been for a second cousin who excelled at the sport, we may have never ended up being swimmers … My parents, as first-generation Americans, would have to learn the language and culture all while raising four boys in a country that at the time, was not as accepting of Latino families as it is today. It was only after our car was set on fire in South Gate by gang members who were soured by my older brothers’ decision not to join their gang did my parents decide that enough was enough and ended up moving our family to Mission Viejo. That was in 1981.
“Although this move was great for the four boys, it created more chaos and uncertainty for my parents. My parents would have to drive a combined 180 miles round-trip per day to and from work. This forced us to take “Dial-a-Ride” to swim practice, accompanied by our nanny. Her job was to make sure that we got to school on-time, got home in one piece, didn’t get in trouble, ate and made our swim practice commitment.
“We, the boys, were the reason that my parents were ‘displaced’ from what little they knew about this country and I learned at an early age that we could not let them down.
“…My parents never had expectations for us when it came to swimming. All they wanted was to keep their boys active, out of trouble and to keep them far away from the car burning freaks that caused us to move in the first place. This was their reality. This is the reason we swam.
“My parents always supported us and so to this day, I only now realize why swimming was so important to them. It wasn’t because they had Olympic or scholarship dreams. It was because they needed to find a way to keep their four boys safe and out of harm’s way while they were out trying to make ends meet.”
harm’s way while they were out trying to make ends meet.”
Felipe married Megan Delgado, and they have three daughters and one son; Anicka and Valentina, who both currently swim; for the Gators Swim Club, Francesca and Luca, both in learn-to-swim lessons at Evolution Swim Academy.
Anicka Delgado, who was born in Shakopee, moved with her family to California, where she lives in Laguna Hills. She went to Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Delgado was an NISCA All-American and California CIF State Champion while prepping at Laguna Hills High School … Most recently, Delgado was a three-time finalist at the 2020 Speedo Champions Series, finishing fifth in the 100-yard fly (53.95), sixth in the 50-yard free (23.34) and eighth in the 200-yard free (1:50.05) … At the 2019 CIF State Championships, Delgado captured a title in the 50-yard free (22.54) and was second in the 100-yard fly (53.49). Earlier In 2019, she was a two-time champion at the California CIF Southern – Division 1 section Championship, taking home titles in both the 50-yard free (22.55) and 100-yard fly (53.33).
Anicka Rain Marie Delgado Kotek, born in Shakopee, is a graduate student. She represents Ecuador internationally. She competed in the women’s 50 meter butterfly and women’s 100 meter freestyle events at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea. In both events she did not advance to the semi-finals. Anicka represented Ecuador, again, in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, competing in the 50M freestyle.