By Anthony Gulizia, News Staff
Varsity swimmer Kelley Becherer made a big splash in Edmonton, Canada last weekend, winning four medals and setting an American record at the 2011 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming championships.
Becherer, a junior who has been swimming since she was seven-years-old, was born visually impaired and has competed at the Paralympic level since she was 13.
“I think being born with it has helped me,” she said. “I’m used to adapting around it and [swimming] comes natural to me. Sometimes I’ll miss a turn if I don’t practice, but I’ll get in the pool two or three times before a race, plus my warm-up to get used to the pool.”
To be legally blind, a person’s vision needs to be 20/200, in comparison to the normal 20/20.
Becherer’s vision is 20/500, which means when she is standing 20 feet away from something, she sees it the same as a perfectly-visioned person who is standing 500 feet away.
Becherer, who is looking to represent the United States at the 2012 London Paralympics, took home first place in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 27.84, beating her own record, which was set in 2008 at the Beijing Paralympics.
“I wasn’t focused on breaking the record,” Becherer said. “But when I did it, I was really happy – I haven’t been under 28 [seconds] since Beijing. It wasn’t the same atmosphere as Beijing, which pumped me up more because of the higher-level energy in the crowd. But I was happily surprised with how fast I swam [in Canada].”
The Sheboygan, Wisc., native also finished first in the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke with times of 1:00.17 and 1:11.48, respectively.
She finished with a pair of second-place finishes in the 100-meter butterfly (1:07.88) and the 200-meter individual medley (2:33.85).
Becherer was out-touched by .7 seconds in the 200-meter individual medley.
“While I’m swimming, I can’t see my competitors unless they’re on my right side,” Becherer said. “I thought my opponent [in Canada] was two body lengths ahead of me, so I thought the race was over and didn’t realize how close she was.”
Even through times like this, Becherer is not deterred by her situation.
“I like to be proud of myself,” she said. “I knew I swam my race well and I was happy with my time. If it was in the [Paralympic] games, I’d be more upset, but I don’t really get down on myself. I’m not too hard on myself all the time.”
Nicole Colucci, a junior swimmer at Northeastern, praised her teammate.
“She’s one of the hardest workers on our team,” Colucci said. “I know I can always look to Kelley to push myself – she’s always in the lane next to me. I never find her not working hard and she’s always cheering for people no matter what.”
Becherer is seeded first nationally in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle, as well as the 100-meter backstroke. But in order to make the United States squad of 35 swimmers, which is roughly half male and half female, she must perform well at the trials in March.
After competing with the team in Athens in 2004 and winning a gold medal in Beijing in 2008, Becherer is ready to compete at the highest level.
“[The experience] makes me appreciate it a lot more, I’m more prepared going into [the London trials]. I was very nervous in Athens, and I was calm in Beijing and I was able to focus on my swimming. Going into London, I’ll have more experience and more confidence.”
