Rice’s Anniina Ala-Seppälä Overcomes Tragedy to Inspire

By Jaecey Parham, Swimming World College Intern

Anniina Ala-Seppälä is a sophomore distance swimmer at Rice. She hails from Finland and began her time at Rice as a freshman in the fall of 2013. One year preceding her freshman year, she faced a trying time that has impacted her entire life, including her swimming career and personal mindset. Because of the tragedy, Ala-Seppälä lives by words we all could use a dose of – never, never, never, give up.

Ala-Seppälä is the oldest of three children in her family. She said her two younger sisters are more rebellious than she, and tend to have a more wild-child lifestyle.

Two years ago, when two policemen showed up on the doorstep of her house in Finland, she immediately speculated one of her sister’s had found themselves in typical teenage trouble.

However, the policemen brought with them news that Ala-Seppälä’s youngest sister had passed away in an accident.

She said that her sister Josefiina, at age 15, had just recently acquired her scooter license and had insisted on driving her scooter that night. Her sister’s scooter slipped on wet pavement, her helmet fell off, and her head hit the tire of a large truck, which killed her instantly.

Ala-Seppälä said the experience was surreal, one that is indescribable. Her sister’s death was also nation-wide news, which Ala-Seppälä said made her family’s coping even harder.

She said “not a lot of things like this happen in Finland so it was in all the newspapers…her face was everywhere,”

Many swimmers are able to use swimming as a get-away, a way to distract and escape from some of life’s nuisances and curve balls. However, Ala-Seppälä said she did not have swimming to help her cope with her sister’s loss. She was having to sit out of the water for two months due to inflammation in her knees and her shoulders.

The injuries only worsened upon the death of her sister.

Ala-Seppälä said that “being so emotionally wrecked and stressed, it definitely makes your injuries worse.”

When Ala-Seppälä was finally able to swim again, she said she realized that her sister wouldn’t want her to sit around grieving. She attended training camps with the national team and at the Finland National meet she said she thought of her sister every time she swam.

Before her sister’s death, Ala-Seppälä said she was solely concerned with swimming. Though getting faster is still an important priority in her life, she said she now values loved ones more than she did prior to her sister’s death.

“I feel like I value my family and friends more,” Ala-Seppälä siad. “Before, I only lived for swimming; my only goal was to get better. I now pay more attention to my relationships.”

Ala-Seppälä said her dad’s influence was what helped her the most in this difficult time. Their relationship bonded because of their mutual love for swimming; her dad, Marti, is the ultimate swim dad. Her dad is the origin of the words she lives by.

“My dad has always told me that I can never, never, never give up,” Ala-Seppälä said. “It’s engraved in me. It’s what I always think about when things are hard, whether it’s a race, homework, or the loss of my sister, it’s what helps me get through things.”

Swimming is tough. Life is tough. Ala-Seppälä’s personal mindset, which stems from her experiences, should serve to inspire us all to also never, never, never give up.

Jaecey Parham is a freshman sprinter at Rice. Prior to enrolling at Rice, Parham trained with the Lubbock Swim Club since she was nine years old. She also competed at Monterey High School, where she was a Texas state champion.

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