Kowal represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, winning the silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke.

[2][3] She was the first American woman to win a world championship title in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1998.

Kowal helped her college team, the Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team of the University of Georgia (UGA), win two NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Kowal was the first American woman to break the one-minute barrier in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Kowal became a member of the United States Swimming Team in 1995 at the age of 16.