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U.S. Open Water Swimming: Lely's Stephenson survives match-up with the big boys
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Harry Stephenson's friends might have spent the day watching football. That's cool -- you know, if you're into that sort of thing.
ROGER LALONDE / Eagle staff
Harry Stephenson is an adept swimmer, whether it be in a pool or in open water. Battling the best, and being the youngest swimmer, Stephenson finished 19th in U.S. Open Water World Championship Trials on Sunday.
Stephenson prefers swimming. A lot of swimming.
On Sunday morning, the Lely High sophomore got his fill. He swam 6.2 miles in about two hours, the time it takes some kids to get ready for school.
"You have to pace yourself," Stephenson said Sunday, after racing with the big boys in the U.S. Open Water World Championship Trials.
Stephenson was talking about distance racing -- not getting ready for school. He should know, too, since he's done open-water swims for about six years.
Stephenson, a Gulf Coast Swim Team member, can tell his classmates about it today. He can tell them he swam against the best in the nation and held his own for a while.
His proof? It's on his upper lip.
Open-water swimming is a little like a car race and a lot like a rugby scrum. The swimmers operate in packs, and those packs are full of flying limbs.
Stephenson got a good taste of that somewhere in Sunday's race. An elbow hit his mouth, pressing his lip against his braces.
"There's always someone on top of you," said the 15-year-old Stephenson, the youngest swimmer in the field. "Everybody gets in everybody's way."
For the first 6 kilometers, he was right in the thick of it. Nineteen of the 20 swimmers were clopped together like a school of fish until 10 or so broke away.
He ended up 19th by finishing the race in 2 hours, 2 minutes, 54 seconds. That was 5 minutes, 53 seconds behind the winner, 27-year-old Mark Warkentin.
He could live with that.
"I'm real happy," said Stephenson, who qualified when he swam a 10K in Indiana two months ago. "It's not easy."
Lately, nothing has been.
About three weeks ago, Stephenson's grandmother, Joann Henrickson, passed away. They were close. She planned to be there Sunday, Stephenson said. He cried when he talked about her, saying how much she loved to watch him compete.
You figure Henrickson -- "Mimi," the grandson called her -- would have been proud of him Tuesday, when Stephenson found himself in a race against time.
He'll never forget that day.
Lely's district swim meet was in Punta Gorda. Henrickson's memorial service was on Marco Island, 80 miles away.
Stephenson bounced from the meet to Marco and back. He was in Punta Gorda for the prelims in the morning and back for the finals in the evening.
Given the circumstances, he performed well. He advanced to Friday's regional in two events.
"I knew she wouldn't want me to be upset," Stephenson said. "She'd want me to get as far as I can."
Now, he can see how far he has to go.
He rubbed elbows -- and threw them -- with some of the best Sunday. He saw their muscles. He saw the way they prepare for a race.
When the day was done, Stephenson looked like the same kid as before. He still stood 5-foot-6, 118 pounds. He still had a baby face and braces.
But he had grown.
"You get a little more wisdom with every race," he said. "That was the best event I'd ever swum in."
That's how Harry Stephenson spent his Sunday. Even if he didn't win the race, the kid's got one heck of a story to tell.
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