Teenager Battles Adversity, Swims With Casts; Tell Us Your Stories of Determination and Courage

GILBERT, Arizona, July 12. IN another example of a swimmer fighting through adversity, 13-year-old Sterling Dahlen of Gilbert, Ariz., recently trained and competed with waterproof casts on both of his arms. His incredible determination is chronicled by Lars Jacoby in an article appearing in the Arizona Republic.

Dahlen, who swims for the Mesa Jr. Mantas, competed in the IM after breaking both of his arms during a rope swing accident in early June.

SwimmingWorldMagazine.com would like to hear some inspirational stories from our readers similar to Dahlen's courageous experience. Feel free to submit them via Reaction Time at the bottom of this article.

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July 12, 2007. My nine year old son broke his leg through motocross. He trained for, and swam, his school swimming carnival with a full leg cast on. He finished in the top 3 in all events apart from Breaststroke and made it through to the next level of competition in the Freestyle. He also said that it acted as an anchor as the water had trouble flowing through all the bends in the cast especially the one at the heel! Helena

July 13, 2007. Do I recall correctly that Tracey Caulkins broke her leg in the early 1980's just as she was becoming known on the world scene? I recall that she swam with a cast on her leg for many weeks. Later she speculated that some of her phenominal improvement the following year was due to the strength she gained while training with the cast. Hothanna

July 13, 2007. My 16 year old daughter sustained a broken wrist and will have her cast removed just six days before she will compete at Junior Nationals this August in Indianapolis. While it was a blow to her having to adjust her training to swim with a cast on, she told her coaches that this type of thing makes her want it (reaching her swimming goals) more than ever. Amazingly this is not the first time she has had to swim in a cast! Eight years ago while swimming as an 8 year old in summer league she broke her wrist playing "capture the flag" at school. She swam the entire rec season with a cast on winning every race she swam in. The week before the league championships she had her cast removed and went on to win both her events, butterfly and 100 Individual Medley. Her coaches are thinking creatively to keep her in shape for Juniors and yes, tough kicking drills are the order of the day! My daughter inspires me with her positive attitude, incredible work ethic and passion for swimming. Susan

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