Swim Clinics

 By Cami Brewer, Spcial Correspondent

Correspondent lympic gold medalist swimmer Sheila Taormina has joined the ranks of ultra-elite athletes such as Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Herschel Walker and Dan O’Brien. On March 15, Taormina became the first swimmer to be honored with the Jim Thorpe All-Around Award for athletes who excel in multiple sports. It was no surprise to the dozens of people who attended the ceremony that she accepted the award with personal thank-you’s to nearly every person in the room. "Every facet of my life is represented by the people in this room," Taormina said.

Taormina, who began her athletic career as a swimmer, won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay. She continued to build on her swimming success and made her debut in the world of multi-sports as a triathlete. She competed in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games as a triathlete and capped off her triathlon career by winning the 2004 Triathlon World Championships. But two sports were not enough for the woman rapidly earning the reputation as the world’s greatest all-around athlete. Taormina is now well on her way to making the Olympic team in the sport of modern pentathlon.

Pentathlon, one of the oldest sports in the modern Olympics, consists of shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian jumping and running. During her first year of competing, Taormina shocked the pentathlon world by medaling at a World Cup and breaking into the top 10 in the World Ranking list.

"Pentathlon is the most exciting and challenging sport I have ever done," Taormina said. "I did not think it could get more ifficult, coming from swimming and triathlon, but pentathlon is. I am excited to be a part of the sport for years to come."

While the swimming portion of the event only involves a 200-meter race in a pool, it is arguably the most important aspect f the modern pentathlon. Athletes earn points in each of the five events throughout the day. The swimming points are based on a ’par’ time, where seconds over that time subtract from a base number of points (1000), while seconds under the time add to the base points.

"It’s a whole new dimension to strategize where my points will come from," says Taormina. She usually scores around 1400 points in the swim, making her the undisputed fastest swimmer in the multi-sport. Add to that her sub-10 minute 3K run, and you’ve got a pentathlete with a leg up on the competition.

Of the technical sports (shooting, fencing, equestrian), Taormina has enjoyed the challenge of learning something new.

"Of the three new sports, show jumping is my favorite," Taormina said. "I’m learning that just like in swimming, technique can make all the difference."

Swimming provided more than just an athletic base for Taormina, though.

"Basic principles such as hard work and persistence became a part of my daily life through swimming," Taormina said. "I’ve been able to apply those principles to other sports and other parts of my life."