Summer Schmit

Started: She began swimming lessons when she was entering elementary school, and joined her first club at age eight. Two years later she joined the St Croix Swim Club in Stillwater, MN, United States of America, to begin competitive training. She took up Para swimming at age 12. (wctrib.com, 06 Aug 2021; teamusa.org, 18 May 2021) Reason: Her mother encouraged her to take up the sport for water safety, and then her coach introduced her to Para swimming. "It was just amazing. I loved it. We had such a fun time. I got to meet a ton of people. I was able to find a community like me. In Minnesota, there aren't many Para swimmers. At the time, one of my teammates was a Para swimmer, but other than that, there wasn't anyone else like me. I saw so many people with disabilities exactly like mine, which was really cool to see. I love swimming, so I was really happy to combine two things that I was really happy about." (wctrib.com, 06 Aug 2021; teamusa.org, 18 May 2021)