Creative Writing Q & A VI

One thing that is always on my mind is swimming. It has come to the point where I've dropped many things (games, music) just to give my full attention to swimming. I think its cool because before this I always day-dreamed about something useless (like games) but now that I don't do much other then swim, homework, and watch shows online it has begun to dominate my thoughts. At the moment I'm trying to reach some of the most rigorous goals I have ever set. My greatest goal which I hope becomes a reality is to make it to the summer Jr. Nationals. Reflecting on my times right now, doing this would require my maximum effort as it would mean dropping 6 seconds in the 100m freestyle (long course). Although six seconds is nearly an impossible amount of time to drop within one season... I have not swam the event since July of 2007 so it should be easier then a six second drop. Based on my times right now I am nowhere near achieving this goal but think with enough work and determination, it can be done. When I was around 6-7, I played all sorts of sports in fact, I hated the water when I was young. When I first began swim lessons the wall was my friend while the water was my enemy. Thinking about my past experiences with swimming makes me laugh when I realize that I probably spend 1/12 of my day in water. As I progressed through the swim lessons my mom asked if I would like to join a club, casually I said yes not giving it to much thought. One event this summer that I'm looking forward to are the Beijing Olympics. When I think of the summer Olympic games My mind instantly goes to swimming. There are few publicized swimming events and the Olympics is one of them. Its always great to see what the greatest swimmers in the world do, think , and see right before their races. Its even better to see the underdog giving the favored swimmer a run for his money sometimes even upsetting the general favorite. One of my favorite Olympic swimmers is Brian Goodell. He was a two time Olympic gold medalist in 1976. The great thing about Goodell is he wasn't even six feet tall. During his 1500 he was trailing a US teammate by a body length and was in a lot of pain at the 1000. It looked as though the race was sealed and he would finish third, his teammate second, and an Australian first. In an interview he said that at first the negative side of his mind would talk to him saying he was done but then the positive side would come on saying, "Get your head together and get going!". In the final stretch he was arm and neck with the Auzi, and ended up winning the race in a touch out. Brian Goodell had more determination then anyone in the sport. As 17 year old who was 5 foot 9-11, he was one of the youngest male swimmers to ever make it to the Olympics and he upset many races and records.