Tough coach pushes tenacious swimmer

By Ray Pitz

The Sherwood Gazette, Feb 22, 2010

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While pleased with Luo winning the gold medal, Maxwell said it was the fact she shaved seconds from her time that made him happiest.

“(The) world record was extra,” he said.

In addition to placing first in the 200 meter individual medley in Rio, Luo won a silver medal in the 100-meter breast stroke and placed fifth in the 50-meter freestyle.

Showing her support for her home team, Luo wore her Sherwood YAWAMA Dragons Swim Team cap under her official competitive cap.

Accident is setback

only for awhile

The freak accident that injured Luo eight years ago is something she defers to Coach Maxwell to explain.

Luo and her boyfriend were in Atlanta getting ready to move. As they packed items into a rented truck, the brake and transmission in the vehicle gave way.

“She was hit by a moving truck, pinned against the sidewalk,” Maxwell said. “As she was trying to get away, it jumped and caught her.”

The result was she was paralyzed from the chest down. While she can stand and walk with assistance, she can’t balance well or kick her legs in the pool.

Luo’s initial reaction after the accident was that she didn’t want to swim again. When she finally did get back into the water: “I cried all the time,” she recalled, referring to the emotional response of trying to get back into the sport she had loved all her life.

“I basically grew up by the swimming pool,” said Luo, who is no stranger to intense athletic competition having been on the Taiwanese National Swim Team before her accident.

A half year after the accident, she started training again but it wasn’t until the Beijing Paralympics that she knew she could once again compete.

In addition to Beijing and Rio de Janeiro, Maxwell said she did well previously in the 2006 Asian Games and later in the world championships held in South Africa. Maxwell recalled that the South African trip was important.

“At that point, I think she realized she was competitive,” he said, adding that she returned “with a new attitude.”

Looking ahead

She was no longer embarrassed to get into the water. She had goals. She had a plan.

“The fruition of that was Beijing where she placed top six in the world,” he said.

He said Paralympic athletes often find it difficult when they initially compete or return to competition, saying it’s a whole new world for them. He said athletes need about 2 1/2 years to train for the Paralympics.

Next, she’ll compete in the World Championships in the Netherlands this August and will travel to the Asian Games in December. She is planning to compete in the 2012 Paralympics set for London as well.

“That’s the next goal for us,” said Maxwell.

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