McClain Hermes - (Tag)

By Molly Griswold, Swimming World College Intern.   McClain Hermes’ highlighter-yellow shoes carried her across the blue pool deck as her name flashed on the screen behind her. She walked steadily to the blocks, one hand gripped lightly to her cane and the other to the arm of her tapper - two things...

Swimming Without the Black Line: How Blind Athletes Adapt This article from the Swimming World archive, written by Paralympian McClain Hermes, details the approaches used by visually impaired swimmers. By McClain Hermes, Swimming World Intern When I began swimming at the age of four, I told my paren...

10 Things a Guide Dog Thinks During Swim Practice Hi, my name is Blake The Guide Dog. My mom is McClain Hermes and her eyes do not work very well. That’s why I am here. I am her eyes and I guide her around trying not to run her into things. She does this thing called swimming and, apparently, she’s ...

The Beautiful Sacrifices of a Swim Mom My friends and family always seem to laugh when I say that I can count my best friends on one hand. My dog, my mom... yes, my mom is on that list. My mom, Carmen, is one of my best friends in the whole world. She means so much to me. She and the rest of my fami...

Team USA put on a show in Cairns, Australia, for the 2018 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships, which was held Aug. 9-13. The team, comprised of 15 women and five men, took home 65 medals, including 33 gold, 19 silver and 13 bronze.  Becca Meyers (Baltimore, Maryland) kicked off the first day of ...

Paralympian and journalism intern, McClain Hermes, shares exclusively with Swimming World some of her methods of doing a flip turn at the wall. As a blind swimmer, Hermes has found freedom in swimming. She even fulfilled her dreams of competing at the pinnacle of success. At just fifteen years old, ...

MEXICO CITY - McClain Hermes (Dacula, Georgia) claimed two individual medals, winning gold (S11 400-meter freestyle) and bronze (S11 50 free) to collect her third and fourth medals of the world championships. It was an 11-medal day as the U.S. heads into the fifth day of competition tomorrow at the ...

U.S. to Send Team of 22 to 2023 Para World Swimming Championships The U.S. on Friday announced a 22-athelte delegation to the 2023 Para World Swimming Championships in Manchester, England. The team includes 16 women and six men. Last week’s Para Swimming World Series in Minneapolis was used as a sel...

Jessica Long, Rudy Garcia-Tolson Selected to Fifth Paralympics for Team USA Team USA announced the Paralympic swimming team for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics on Monday, a group of 24 women and 10 men that includes five-time Paralympians Jessica Long and Rudy Garcia-Tolson. The selection follows the three-...

From Rivals to Training Partners to an Unwavering Friendship As Brian Houston once stated: “Don't be fooled into thinking that you have the capacity to achieve your best on your own. A training partner in the gym is a great asset because when you think you have reached your limit, there is someone w...

The Support of a Teammate Cannot Be Overestimated Do you find it ironic that a blind journalist uses a quote by Helen Keller to begin an article? Well, consider this, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller. No, do not worry, I am not going to use this particular quot...

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced the U.S. Parapan American Swimming and all sports teams that will compete at the Parapan American Games Lima 2019 from Aug. 23 – Sept. 1 in Peru. The U.S. roster is comprised of 159 men and 98 women, and includes six guides and pilots....