I read Matt Sato’s letter, “Swim City has a nice ring to it,” and I am writing in support of its premise that Federal Way should be known as “Swim City USA.”

I have lived in several cities in my lifetime, and the ones that seemed the most successful were the ones with the most community pride. Identification with sports, or sports teams, is a very good way of accomplishing this.

Many years ago, I had the privilege to live in Eugene, Ore., at a very special time. They had a track coach (Bill Bowerman) who one night decided his runners needed better track shoes. As the story goes, he ruined his wife’s waffle iron creating the soles for a better gripping running shoe. The rest is history. Nike shoes and all that it has become was born.

Roughly the same time, there was a long distance runner living in Eugene by the name of Steve Prefontaine. He became renowned as the fastest long distance runner in the world. The city became running crazy. Running trails were built all over town, and long distance runners came to train there. The city proclaimed that Eugene was the “Running Capital of the World.” From that point on, it was a proud responsibility, whenever we introduced ourselves, to add that to our name. Literally thousands of Eugene citizens became good will ambassadors for their city.

Federal Way has a world class aquatic center. It brings in world class events like the recent Olympic diving trials. We apparently also have some outstanding city swimming clubs. Yes, indeed, Federal Way, “Swim City USA” has a nice ring to it.

Bob Kellogg, Federal Way