By Sarah Moomaw, News Staff

When she finished the NCAA season last March, senior swimmer Kelley Becherer had three Olympic medals to her name. She’ll open this season having bumped that number to seven after competing in her third Paralympic Games in London this summer.

Becherer was preparing to defend her 2008 Paralympic gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle sprint just three weeks ago. On Sept. 1, she did just that, in an American record time of 27.46 seconds for the gold medal.

“I love races where you just dive in and it’s one length of an Olympic dashsize pool. It went really quickly,” she said. “I defended my title that night. I really didn’t even think about that. One of the news reports [in London] asked afterwards, ‘How was it defending your title?’ and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. I did that.’”

When Becherer was born, her parents were told she would be completely blind. Today, she has 20/500 vision with almost no peripherals. Because she has been swimming since the age of 6, she’s found ways to conquer.

“I think I’ve adapted really well,” she said. “In the pool, the turns are really hard for me … I kind of just know at this point. Whenever I get in a new pool, I practice my turns a lot … you just get so use to [turning] that you know when they are coming.”

Additionally, she can’t see her competitors in neighboring lanes, making the final push at the end of a race crucial.

Her defending gold medal was just the first of four medals she brought back from London.

The following day, she swam for gold in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 59.56 seconds. A week later, she added to her medal count with bronze medals on back-to-back days in the 200-meter independent medley (Sept. 7, 2:30.36) and the 100-meter backstroke (Sept. 8, 1:21.50).

She didn’t place in Athens in 2004, but in 2008, she brought home her first 50-meter gold and bronze medals in the 100 and 400 freestyles.

“[London] was my third time, so I was more relaxed and had more fun with it and enjoyed everything instead of being so nervous,” she said. “The pool facility and the people were great. The stands were always crowded, so it had a great atmosphere … I had so much fun with my teammates.”

On Oct. 6, Becherer will dive off the blocks in her final season-opener as a Husky. But once the season ends she’ll have to make ultimate decision of whether or not London was her final Paralympic Games.

“Going into London, I probably would say I was 95 percent sure that it my last Games, but coming out of London and all the emotions that come with the Games, it’s so exciting. You’re on this high, and after winning medals it’s even more of a high,” she said. “You want to have that feeling again, but it’s four years of training. You have to have a life too, when do you move on?”

Northeastern head coach Roy Coates said he believes her nearly perfect GPA as a physical therapy major and drive in the classroom will ultimately play a role in the decision.

“If she wants to go for it, I have no doubt she’d be as successful at the next Olympics as she was at this one,” Coates said. “I’m sure she’ll see if her career and training can work together. I’m sure Kelly could continue to be successful.”

Becherer found her love for the pool through her older brother, who quit swimming a year after she fell in love with the sport.

The Paralympic Games became a dream of hers after she attended a camp in her home state of Wisconsin, where she met Paralympic athletes. At camp, she and other young athletes worked out, trained and competed with Olympians.

A plea from a Paralympian convinced Becherer to try out for Team USA. She wound up qualifying for Athens in 2004 at just 13 years old, which was all that was needed to light her Olympic flame.

Even after three Games, her mother, Laura, is still trying to wrap her mind around all her daughter has accomplished.

“It’s very cool to sit there and watch them play the National Anthem for your daughter, but hard to describe,” she said. “You just get tears running down your face. It’s a feeling like no other.”

But did she ever imagine having a seven-time Olympic-medalled daughter?

“No,” she said after a laugh. “I would have never guessed.”