Swim Florida’s Colleen Healy Honored with Oerter Award

FT. MYERS, Fla, November 4. ON October 28th the Coalition of Lee County for a Drug Free Southwest Florida awarded Colleen Healy the Al Oerter award. There were 13 Lee County Nominees for this award, three of which were Swim Florida athletes; Nick Gleason, Lauren Shue and Colleen Healy.

Al Oerter is a 4 time Olympic Gold Medallist in the Discus. Al holds the distinction of being the only person to Win four consecutive Olympic games in one sport. Each time setting a new world record.

The coalition of Lee County for a Drug Free Southwest Florida created the Oerter Trophy to honor the high school athlete who best epitomizes Al Oerter philosophy of excellence in an individual sport, excellence in academics, and commitment to a drug free lifestyle which reaches out to help others.

Colleen Healy is a student and a swimmer at Cape Coral High School. She is an outstanding swimmer and holds school records for the: 100-Yard Butterfly. 100-Yard Backstroke. 100-Yard Freestyle, and the 50-Yard Freestyle. She is an outstanding team captain, as well. Colleen won the State Championship in the 100-Yard Butterfly and placed third in the state in the 100-Yard Backstroke. She also led the school’s 200-Yard Medley Relay and the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay Teams to outstanding performances at the state championship this past season. Her dedication to excellence drives her to practice twice a day, often arriving at the pool before 4:30 in the morning and returning to the pool after school for another several hours of practice.

Colleen has consistently maintained above a 4.0 grade point average during high school. Currently she has a 4.10 grade point average while being an honors student and Vice President of the National Honor Society. She is also working on her thirteenth year of Perfect Attendance, has been named a High School All-American, and is listed in the “Who’s Who Among America’s High School Students”. In addition, she has been nominated for the USS Swimming Scholastic All-American Scholar Award.

Colleen is a natural-born leader, says Coach Tillotson, adding that “ She stands head and shoulders above her peers by setting high standards for herself and those around her”. She is dedicated to helping those around her achieve their best as well. She keeps involved in school activities such as Homecoming and volunteers her time to make the school a better and safer place to be. Her personal choices on drugs, alcohol, and violence speak volumes to her peers. She is an active voice in both the Student Government Association and the Rotary Club. and through these organizations, leads the charge for a drug free future. She has pledged to live a drug free lifestyle and never passes an opportunity to speak out to her peers about the negative effects of drugs and violence.

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