“Kristin is well-respected by teammates and was voted most-improved junior,” said her coach. “I don’t think of her as handicapped; she is handi-capable.”
The Paralympic swim team
It was Coach Topping who suggested that Kristin try out for the Paralympic swim team.
Kristin participated in her first international swim meet, the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Championships, in December at the University of Maryland. More than 250 athletes with physical disabilities from 16 countries competed, including all members of the United States Paralympics Swimming elite and national teams.
“It was so awesome,” said Kristin. “I was with swimmers from around the world and competing against swimmers from Australia, France, Mexico and Spain.”
“For the first time, I was surrounded by swimmers who understood where I came from. Every day, I met someone new and they all encouraged me,” she said.
“I learned that elite and national swim teams are made up of humble people,” she wrote in an essay posted on the Manchester Swim Club’s Web site. “Every single swimmer had a physical ‘imperfection’ and had to overcome many challenges to swim, but they swam well and with passion,” she wrote.
Kristin qualified for the 50-meter backstroke and managed to cut seven seconds between the preliminary and final rounds.
“The race was amazing,” she said. “Going to my first Paralympic meet gave me more incentive not just to succeed in swimming and go to the 2012 Paralympics, but to succeed in life. Every swimmer had the determination and belief that they can contribute something even though they don’t have limbs, strong muscles, or sight.”
“Paralympic swimming is a great experience,” said Maura Grusse, a member of St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church in Hartford, who also has a Paralympic swimmer in her family. “It lets physically challenged athletes compete on a level playing field.”
In competition with able-bodied athletes, Paralympic swimmers work to achieve their personal best with little chance of winning their event, she said.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
“The Paralympic swim teams provide athletes opportunities to meet and develop friendships with other athletes who face physical challenges,” said Mrs. Grusse, whose daughter, Rachel, is ranked among the top 25 swimmers in the world for two events in her category.
Kristin trains year-round and, in a Paralympic competition last May, established the first American record for the 200 meter backstroke in her category. She swam in the National Junior Disability Championships that were held at Rutgers University, in July as a member of the Wave, a Connecticut swim team that is sponsored by the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain.
During the competition, Kristin earned a world rank for the 50-meter backstroke. She is now ranked 18th in the world and third nationally for this event.
Kristin believes that each competitive swim experience helps prepare her to make the Paralympics team that will compete in London in 2012.
This month, she’ll ease up on her grueling training schedule to travel with her family to San Diego to rest, relax and, of course, swim. Through a program sponsored by the Challenged Athletes Foundation, professional instructors will introduce Kristin to ocean swimming. She’ll also try surfing with her mentor, Ryan Levinson, a triathlon athlete who also has muscular dystrophy.
‘An inspiration’