{"id":3219,"date":"2016-11-10T14:38:07","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T20:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/?p=3219"},"modified":"2017-02-15T11:34:16","modified_gmt":"2017-02-15T17:34:16","slug":"olympic-mojo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/olympic-mojo\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Mojo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 6 minutes<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When swimmer Giordan Harris<\/a> was injured while training for the 2012 Olympics, his doctor told him he shouldn\u2019t swim until he healed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 18 years old, in awe of Michael Phelps, and my race only lasted 26 seconds,\u201d he recalls. \u201cNothing was going to stop me. I was going to swim, even if my arm was broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 23, Harris is more determined than ever. He landed in St. Louis barely a week after competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio to become one of the newest members of the Saints\u2019 fledgling swim team<\/a>. He grew up on the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific and has traveled around the world competing in elite 50-meter competitions.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olympic Memories<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBoth London 2012 and Rio 2016 were the greatest moments of my life,\u201d Harris says. \u201cI\u2019ve spent my whole life swimming and working towards these goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor both games, from start to finish, I was just in complete awe; I was amazed and astounded by everything, every little detail,\u201d he says. \u201cI remember the London 2012 opening ceremonies \u2014 as they announced our country, and we walked through the corridor to enter into the Olympic stadium and paraded through, the roar of the crowd was so loud I could feel the vibrations within me.\u201d Immediately after the parade around the Olympic stadium, Harris hugged his mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both started tearing up, in disbelief and sheer happiness,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThere is no one else I would rather share the experience with. My mother has sacrificed, and still sacrifices, so much and works just as hard as I do to get me to where I need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve fallen in love with the process, fallen in love with the experience.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Harris has yet to meet Phelps.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhelps, being not only the greatest swimmer who has ever lived, but also being the greatest and most decorated Olympic athlete in history, I was always too nervous to approach or talk to him,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve met other swim idols of mine. They\u2019re extremely friendly; the famous and elite swimmers, too. They help the younger swimmers by sharing stories of their experiences to help us on our journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris hopes to expand his Olympic experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve fallen in love with the process, fallen in love with the experience,\u201d he says. \u201cThe friends I\u2019ve made along the way have become family to me, and yes, I will be working towards Tokyo 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the competition, he says. It\u2019s the sense of community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is just something special about the swim community. We may all be competing against each other, but at the end of the day we are all athletes, and no matter the flags we carry, we cheer each other on,\u201d Harris says. \u201cWatching Phelps push the limits of swimming, doing things that nobody thought was possible\u2014the whole swim world cheers for him, because at the end of the day, he is human just like us, and regardless of the country a swimmer represents, we all love the sport and will cheer for and help our fellow swimmers achieve boundless feats.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Swimmer Becomes a Saint<\/strong><\/p>\n

The decision to spend the next few years in the Midwest surprised some aquatic athlete watchers, but not Harris.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had finished two years of college in Iowa and taken a year off for Olympics training in Illinois,\u201d Harris says. \u201cI like the Midwest and it was time to finish my education.\u201d Harris credits an Oceania Australia Foundation Scholarship for providing his first opportunity to study in the U.S.<\/p>\n

As he dove into his next college search, Erica Rose<\/a>, who last spring was named head coach of Maryville\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s swim and dive teams, was busy recruiting for the men\u2019s squad. It was early June, her birthday, and she opened an email to find a message from Harris.\"Giordan<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he was looking at a few Division II schools in the Midwest and wanted to talk to me about Maryville,\u201d she says. \u201cI checked out his bio and couldn\u2019t believe what was about to happen. Last year, I had one male on my team. This year I have nine, including an Olympic swimmer. It was definitely our lucky day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris grew up on Ebeye Island, a mile-long coral atoll halfway between Australia and Hawaii. The densely populated sliver of land measures 80 acres, and is home to 15,000 people. It is one of the poorest nations in the South Pacific.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up I was very fortunate to be a part of the Ri-katak education program, funded by the U.S. Army,\u201d Harris says. \u201cThey choose four or five Ebeye kids each year to attend schools on the base at Kwajalein from kindergarten into high school. That program really helped those of us who qualified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris says \u201call the right things\u201d have happened to him and he\u2019d like to see the people of his homeland, especially the children, prosper and grow. A cyber security major, Harris wants to return to Ebeye to help build the island\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I\u2019m doing now will get me back to my country,\u201d he says. \u201cSwimming got me off the island. I\u2019ve traveled and received scholarships to finish college, which allows me to continue swimming. I want to see more Ebeye kids have those opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This story also featured\u00a0in the Fall\u00a02016 edition of<\/em> Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPMagazine.<\/p>\n

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