Robert Edgell grew up in Alsager in the United Kingdom and attended Alsager School, where he competed in cross country and swimming. He swam in various national age group championships, captained the Alsager Swimming Club, and represented regional teams at several national level competitions.

He entered Lake Forest College in 1996 and began one of the most successful careers in the rich history of Forester swimming & diving. He was named Midwest Conference Swimmer of the Year as a freshman after claiming three individual championships (100-freestyle, 100-butterfly, 200-IM) and three relay titles at the conference meet. He earned the honor again as a sophomore, when he won both butterfly events and the 200-IM and competed on four victorious relay teams. He prevailed in the same three individual events and added two more relay titles as a junior. The MWC Swimmer of the Year again as a senior, he won the 100- and 200-freestyle and claimed his fourth consecutive conference championship in the 200-IM. He also helped the 400-medley relay team finish first, giving him a total of 21 conference championships in his career, which was still tied for the highest total in program history at the time of his induction. Edgell also took his individual success to the national meet, where he earned Honorable Mention All-American honors by placing among the top 16 in the country in one event as a freshman, two as a sophomore, and three as a senior. Edgell was voted the Foresters’ Most Valuable Performer all four years and captained the squad as a junior and senior. He finished his career with six individual school records and ranked among the top five in team history three other events. He also owned the fastest times in conference history in five different individual events. His achievements also led to team accomplishments as Lake Forest claimed MWC titles in each of his first three years on the squad.

Edgell’s success at Lake Forest College was not limited to the pool. He was a three-time Academic All-Midwest Conference honoree and earned Academic All-American distinction from GTE and the College Sports Information Directors of America as a junior and senior. He also earned the College’s Harald C. Jensen prize for the most outstanding senior thesis describing original independent research in experimental physics. He graduated cum laude from the College in 2000 with a degree in physics and went on to a successful career in the investment banking industry.

He and his wife Jessica have two daughters, Annabelle and Amelia.