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Aaron Shackall started swimming at the age of five and didn’t like it – for a long time – and only started enjoying it a few years ago.
Then, last night all those feelings he had about swimming came gushing out. At 19 years old he won the men’s 400-meter freestyle and cemented his place as a member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team – for the first time.
Realized he had won, he let it all out, slamming the water with his arm, getting out of the pool and heaving his cap onto the deck, raising his arms to the packed Lucas Oil Stadium, saying with his unleashing of raw and genuine emotions: “I did it.”
A moment like no other for him in the state where he is from, Indiana. And a moment like no other for us seeing a young man most Americans didn’t know until last night come through when the stakes were as high as the sky against a field of America’s fastest 400-meter freestylers.
How life surprises and enthralls us, especially watching swimming. A kid who doesn’t like swimming for so long finds he likes it eventually and then, one day becomes an American hero for the rest of his life.
Is there anything better than a story like his, fighting through what you don’t want to do and through incredible persistence ascending to heights almost no one on Earth ever does?
Shackall’s story of triumph is one of many scintillating and splashy stories you’re going to be hearing about day after day as the Trials swim along, stories of grit, euphoric reactions, harsh disappointments, rising up, falling down, all of what life is playing out in a pool in Indianapolis.
Stop whatever you’re doing. Hop in and swim every day with these courageous American swimmers and root for them to feel fulfilled whether they make the team or not because they all have sacrificed so much to be good at their craft, and that is honorable and worthy of our respect.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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