Courtesy: Elizabeth Spencer
The swimming world is still intoxicated in the aftermath of the Pro Swim Series meet in Fort Lauderdale. It was like a binge weekend for swim enthusiasts, drunk on chlorine and sunshine, world records, pool records, Olympians and champions of all sorts, all in one fantastic, world-class aquatic facility! The triumphant photos, the memes and media posts, the winning smiles and proclamations of best ever are still flying at a dizzying rate!
In a post-race interview following an extraordinary swim, Olympic and Pro Series champion Regan Smith proclaimed that this was a great tune-up meet! And that’s when it hit me. It’s all about perspective. One swimmer’s tune-up meet is another swimmer’s dream come true!
While the star-studded entrants were swimming under the big lights, gauging where they are and where they want to be post-Olympics and NCAAs, for my daughter, this was the meet of a lifetime. A culmination and affirmation of her work in the pool. And it did not disappoint.
A dear swim mom friend told me many years ago, “Your kid should go to the fastest meet they can qualify for, even if it’s only for one race.” It is in that spirit that my daughter entered the Pro Swim Series meet.
In the high school season, she missed the short course Pro Series cut in her best event by 0.04 seconds. Undeterred, she got back to work, determined to make the cut in the long course! At Sectionals, she conquered that goal, triumphantly surpassing the qualifying time by 0.26 seconds! The happy tears were real and genuine.
In Fort Lauderdale’s hallowed Hall of Fame pool, she was the least heralded but probably the most grateful swimmer in the water! You won’t see her on the highlight reels, in a Swimming World or SwimSwam profile, or a post-race interview. She won’t be featured on USA Swimming’s social media. But does she care? Not in the least! She spent every second of every session on deck. Watching, studying, and learning from the very best, basking in the proximity to greatness, jumping and cheering and breathing it all in. The sunshine and the ocean breeze, the crowd, the excitement, the magic in the air. She cheered for the Olympians! She cheered for the non-Olympians! She cheered for her teammates! She cheered for her former teammates! She cheered for future teammates of the D3 school to which she is committed. She cheered for a pool full of complete strangers who were there following their dreams, just like she was.
By the end of the weekend, her heart and her camera roll were bursting. As for me, I’m the proudest swim mom in the world, and I’m grateful for a front row seat to watch my daughter make her dreams come true.
ABOUT ELIZABETH SPENCER
Elizabeth Spencer is a wife and mother of three from Miami. She is a passionate swim mom, volunteer and meet official, with a professional background in marketing and public relations. She holds a degree in Public Communication from American University, and loves finding a story to tell.
Thanks for sharing this! What an awesome and uplifting piece and this is what our sport is all about!
Fantastic! My daughter was also there
She hadn’t even been in an LC pool since early October. Her goal was not to be last in amy of her events although ultimately she would have been fine if that had been the outcome.
The true gift of a swimming career is the journey and we sometimes forget that every single swimmer gets that.