By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C.
Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON – The United States had the
Olympic performance of Baltimore native Michael Phelps to celebrate last month,
and now the nation can rejoice in the dominating performance of U.S. Paralympic
swimmer Navy Lt. Bradley Snyder.
Snyder carried over his strong
performance in June’s U.S. swimming trials by setting a Paralympic record in
his qualifying event here Aug. 31 for the 100-meter freestyle and earning a
gold medal in the final round.
“It's really crazy. … It's really loud
in here,” Snyder said following his record-setting qualifying swim. “It's
exciting. We were able to go out and do what we were wanting to do. I was
pretty happy to go out and get the time I got tonight.”
After Snyder swam the 100-meter
freestyle in 57.18 seconds to set the Paralympic record, he reflected on the
feeling of stepping out in front a huge crowd to represent the United States,
saying it was “a huge comfort” getting into the water. “I've never walked out
in front of this many people,” he said. “[It's] very crazy, and a lot of
excitement. The second I hit the pool, it felt natural again. It felt like I
was in my zone, so it felt really good.”
After earning gold medal in the final
round for the 100-meter freestyle, Snyder admitted he was a bit nervous.
“It was great – absolutely great,” he
said. “There was a lot of uncertainty this morning, a lot of nerves, coming out
in front of a crowd this size. It was pretty daunting.
“I kind of underestimated that a little
bit,” said he continued. “But once I hit the water, I felt really comfortable
and really loose. I was able to get a swim in this morning, and then backed it
up tonight. I'm glad to have touched the wall first. I'm really glad to set a
precedent that hopefully will last through the week. And I’m glad to represent
Team USA.”
The Navy lieutenant, who was blinded
while attempting to disable an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on
Sept. 7, 2011, will now face what he considers his flagship event on the
anniversary of the accident.
“The anniversary of my accident will be
next Friday,” he pointed out. “I'll be competing in my primary event – 400
freestyle. I'm really looking forward to it.”
Brian Loeffler, the U.S. Paralympic
swimming team’s coach, explained how he and the Navy lieutenant came together
in the first place.
“Brad moved to Baltimore, and it's been
a great experience,” he said. “I coached a blind athlete before in Philip
Schultz, so I was thrilled when I heard Brad was moving to Baltimore.”
Loeffler echoed Snyder’s assertion that
the upcoming 400-meter freestyle is his strongest event. “I'm thrilled he won
tonight,” the coach said after Snyder earned the 100-meter gold medal, “but
we've really been focused on that 400. Today is gravy in terms of the
additional medal spot.”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment