By Jim Richardson
The NCAA Swimming Championships are full of exciting moments filled with memorable performances. It is easy to evaluate performances based on times. However, for many of us, the stories behind those swims can serve as greater inspiration for how we should live our lives. Dr. Carol Dweck at Stanford preaches the mantra of a growth-learning mindset over a talent-fixed mindset. The gist of her message is to place greater value on the development of changeable functional attributes. And that is not an easy thing to do in a sport where you don’t get style points.
While I’m sure that there are many swimmers in this meet who have had to overcome significant obstacles on their journeys to this meet, two that come to mind are Sarah Henry of Texas A&M and Emily Fogle of Purdue.
Sarah, a native North Carolinian and fifth-year senior, is ending her collegiate career back home. She was third in the 500 free on the first night, she won the 400 IM (her first individual NCAA title) last night, and she is seeded eighth in the mile tonight.
It should be noted that Sarah had the fastest breaststroke split of any 400 IM finalist. Why is that so “notable”? Sarah underwent ACL surgery before her senior year in high school.
Her freshman year at A&M she finished 13th in the 500, sixth in the 400 IM, and 15th in the mile -- then she re-injured that exact same knee in the spring of that year and had a second ACL surgery in three years.
After sitting out the 2011-12 season, Sarah came back strong in 2013, finishing second in the 1650, sixth in the 400 IM, and ninth in the 500. In 2014 she finished eighth in the 500, fourth in the 400 IM, and fourth in the 1650. This year, she has a bronze in the 500, an NCAA title in the 400 IM and a shot at a great finish in the 1,650 tonight.
Sarah’s ability to overcome injury and the accompanying disappointment -- not once, but twice -- is a testament to her character and her commitment to the process of getting better.
Emily Fogle’s journey has been highlighted in a recent article at ncaa.com. Emily was a good high school swimmer but certainly not a blue chipper. Her best 200 breaststroke in high school was 2:17 in 2009.
Once arriving on the campus at West Lafayette, Emily’s talent began to show immediately. She went 2:12.97 her freshman year and at the NCAA’s her sophomore year in 2012 she won the consolation final in the 200 breaststroke in 2:08.28, the fifth fastest time in the meet. She was on track to continue her progression to becoming one of the best 200 breaststrokers in the country.
Then the first adversity struck. She began to experience problems in her hip that were diagnosed as congenital in origin. In December of 2012 she had her first surgery on her right hip. That was followed by a second surgery on her left hip in March of 2013.
While recovering from that surgery, true tragedy struck the Fogle family. Emily’s mother died suddenly in April. In her words she said, “I lost my sport, I lost my identity and I lost my mom”. As a result, Emily developed anorexia, losing over 50 pounds. Ultimately she was admitted for inpatient treatment.
But Emily’s story doesn’t end there. She returned to Purdue in the fall of 2013 and began a gradual return to training. And just when things were starting to look better, she had to undergo ANOTHER left hip surgery in January of 2014.
Despite all of the tragedies and disappointments, Emily returned to training with her Purdue teammates in the fall of 2014. At Purdue’s invitational in November, Emily swam 2:11.93 in the 200 breaststroke.
You think everything is coming up roses now…right? Wrong! After that meet Emily contracted mono. She was able to return to training but her best time in January was a “sizzling” 2:21.55, less than a month from the Big Ten Championships. But there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. At the Big Tens, Emily swam 2:10.26 to qualify for the NCAA Championships after a three-year journey through multiple hardships. Today Emily swam 2:12.92, which did not qualify for a second swim. But in my book Emily has placed first in the most important competition we all face…not quitting despite what life throws at us.
Purdue will petition the NCAA for another year of eligibility for Emily, and her coach, John Klinge, tells me that she is excited to see what she can do this summer and next year. If anyone deserves another year, Emily does. Life’s lessons have been tough for her, but in the end, Emily has learned that swimming is something she does, it is not who she is and most importantly, who she is becoming!
Thanks to Rick Houston at ncca.com and John Klinge at Purdue for help in preparing this story.
