Cohoon moved from the club where he first started swimming aged five to join a programme that shared the pool with multiple Olympic and World champion Adam Peaty.
Andi Manley, director of swimming at the university, says attitude and potential are traits that are sought and which Cohoon had in abundance.
“Just looking at rankings or the times they are swimming tells you nothing about the person,” Manley said.
“And Alex is a great example of that. When he came to us a few years ago he was relatively unknown – he wasn’t a superstar coming in.
“But the structure and the programme we have here allowed him to come in and be coached well, gave him extra access to training and a strength and conditioning coach and gave him the tools to get up that ladder.
“It is a brilliant story. What Alex has done is absolutely monumental and we are so proud of his journey.”
Within months of starting at Loughborough University, Cohoon was fast-tracked to the high performance team.
Olympic qualification was the aim, with Los Angeles the realistic target in 2028.
Paris was always the “really long shot”, Cohoon admits.
A fourth-placed finish in the 100m freestyle at the British Swimming Championships in April – with a personal best time of 48.2 seconds – earned him a place on the relay team alongside the experienced trio of Matt Richards, Duncan Scott and Tom Dean.
Ian Hume, swimming head coach at Loughborough, is accustomed to overseeing success in the pool with a stable of Olympians working under him.
Twelve of the Team GB squad of 33 swimmers heading to the French capital train at Loughborough University.
But he says seeing Cohoon grab a place in Paris was special.
“That moment when Alex made the Olympics and because he was an outsider – and not to belittle him, it was such a small chance – when he touched the wall and I saw fourth next to his name, I’ll remember that for the rest of my life,” Hume said.
