Colorado Springs high schooler takes swimming from therapy to Division 1
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Jack O'Neil started in the pool as a form of physical therapy, but now he plans on taking on a big challenge: swimming on the NCAA stage.
It's that time of year when we are celebrating our graduating seniors, and O'Neil is one of them. He just graduated from D-20's Village High School a few days ago, but for the last four years, O'Neil has best been known for his swimming abilities.
He had several surgeries as a little kid, but over the years he's grown to love the water for more than just that therapy. It's now become a place of hope and healing.
"I really never stop moving and being able to swim and obviously as much as I train 9-10 times a week right now," says Jack O'Neil.
Clearly, the 18-year-old spends a lot of time in the pool at the Pikes Peak Athletic Club in Colorado Springs.
"I'm a big 400 freestyle guy and I'll do some backstroke, but free and back are kind of my thing," says O'Neil.
Jack's been swimming since he was a little kid. Years later, one might call him a high school star athlete. In the fall he's headed to the University of Wyoming, where he's already been accepted onto the D-1 swim team.
"It's been something that I stuck with and loved it forever and I am super excited to continue at Wyoming and luckily I've had a great team here at athletics to help me reach my goals," says O'Neil.
But he's doing all of this with one leg. Jack was born with a debilitating leg deformity. His left leg wasn't growing and he struggled through surgery after surgery.
"They put rods in my bones and broke the bones in my leg to grow my leg every day by twisting these rods. It was really painful but a good way to keep me moving and weight off my leg was to be in the water and that's why I started swimming," says O'Neil. "It's kind of funny that something so terrible brought me into something I love so much."
After years of trying to improve his mobility, Jack was ready for a prosthetic.
"When I was nine years old I was like I've had enough, I want to amputate my leg," says O'Neil.
Nearly a decade later, it hasn't slowed him down one bit.
"I've qualified the Colorado State Meet under able-bodied times which was something pretty cool," says O'Neil.
Jack is now one of the few disabled D-1 athletes around the country competing in the NCAA. It's something he sees as an honor and an opportunity to raise awareness and push for more disabled athletes to compete in the coming years.
"Really be an advocate for not only myself but to get more disabled athletes into the NCAA because I think we really do have a place there," says O'Neil. "You can ask my coach my teammates right now what I bring to the table and think it's something the NCAA should start embracing. I'm excited to start that challenge and see what I can do with it."
He's also on the emerging U.S. Paralympic Team which helps adaptive athletes develop train and compete. Jack hopes one day to compete at the Games and represent the U.S.
"I am training for trials right now, basically just a good experience for when I go into 2024 really serious about making the team," says O'Neil.
In 2024, the Paris Olympics and Paralympics will happen before Jack graduates from University of Wyoming so he's got a lot to look forward to. Jack is also a paratriathlete and loves to run and bike, which gives him options when it comes to the event he can qualify for.
