Chlorine lingers in the air, the sticky warmth sticks to wet skin as slippers squeak and shuffle across the tiled floor. Kick the slippers off, take deep breaths, fill up with oxygen, and take the risk. Diving in, the cold water sends goosebumps to sun-tanned skin. Break the surface tension and become submerged. He kicks his legs, once, twice, extending his arms out and coming to the surface for air. Freshman Vyas Vishnukumar loved this feeling, until he couldn’t.
In 2020 during fourth grade, Vishnukumar thought he would always swim. He had never thought about not swimming, not going on to compete in the highest levels, not excelling and being able to compete. Swimming was his passion until he was hospitalized with pneumonia.
“Because COVID hadn’t affected the U.S. yet, there were no COVID measures in the hospital,” Vishnukumar said. “However, since I had an infectious disease, everyone who visited had to wear a gown, mask and gloves. While I was still in the ICU, my dad and brother could only see me through the glass because they weren’t sure what I had yet.”
Vishnukumar’s stay in the hospital for months was hard on him, especially because he was told by his doctors he wasn’t allowed to swim. He had been swimming since he could move his legs, and having to give up something he was so passionate about was difficult for him to accept.
“I wasn’t able to do what I’m most passionate about, which was definitely really hard,” Vishnukumar said. “There was a good impact and a bad impact, I was able to spend more time with my family because I wasn’t going to practice every day like I used to. The bad one was that I essentially had to restart swimming after I went back to practice.”
Family is extremely important to Vishnukumar, and they supported him throughout his journey. From the hospital bed to the natatorium, his family had his back and encouraged him as he made his recovery from pneumonia.
“In the beginning, my family was more worried about my health and coming back to normal,” Vishnukumar said. “But after that, they were trying to put me back into the sport as soon as possible. The timing was really bad, I had gotten hospitalized just before COVID, so there was a long time when we couldn’t do anything. As soon as tryouts for NTN opened though, my family immediately started helping me get back into swimming.”
This year was Vishnukumar’s first year back swimming competitively. Swimming has helped Vishnukumar regain his strength and it helped him keep fighting when he was sick. Swimming was such an important pillar in his life, even his friends had noticed that not being able to swim would have a huge effect on his life.
“He told me himself that he was relieved at first when the doctor said he couldn’t swim,” freshman Joe Brown said. “Swimming was very stressful but after a while, he really started to miss it.”
Thousands of kids compete in competitive swimming every year. Vishnukumar is one in half a million that swims in high school, but he doesn’t want to be viewed just as a statistic.
“I want to get good enough to make varsity this year,” Vishnukumar said “I want to maximize my potential so I can make state. Swimming really helps me get in my mental happy place. It’s when I really feel in tune with my environment and body.”
Overcoming so many obstacles to do what he’s passionate about helped Vishnukumar become the person he is. Swim coach Kevin Murphy says that despite his hardships Vishnukumar’s swimming career has not been set back.
“Vyas is swimming every other day in our junior varsity program,” Murphy said. “He is doing a very nice job with his swimming.”
Growing up, everyone has dreams. Most people move on from them once life hands them challenges. Unsupportive parents, a lack of income, or a serious injury can stop passions in the blink of an eye. Vishnukumar however, is not like most people, and his strive and strength are something that everyone can take note of.
“To me, swimming is more than just winning that race,” Vishnukumar said. “It’s about the connection with the water. I’ll be swimming my entire life, no matter the circumstance.”
