Purdue Swimmers Overcome Huge Obstacles

From time to time in this blog, I will talk about student-athletes who have overcome tremendous adversity to succeed in their sport. All of us face adversity and must find ways to overcome it. Here is the story of two Purdue female swimmers who faced different personal trials, but overcame them with flying colors.

Both of these young ladies graduated from Purdue University back in 2005, but swimmers Tracy Duchac and Christine Leupold faced daunting hurdles but came out on top. Christine Leupold struggled with a heart deficiency discovered during her Freshman year, making it very tough for her to compete at the level she knew she could during her first two years. "It made me stop and think, and for a while I questioned why I was swimming," Leupold said. "But I came to the conclusion that I love swimming and like being a part of the team. And it was the team that backed and motivated me the entire time."

Leupold got the proper medical attention, and though she struggled during her first two years swimming for the Boilermakers, by her Senior Year her and fellow Senior Tracy Duchac were two of seven seniors that anchored a young Boilermaker team primed and ready for the 2005 Big 10 Championships. Christine Leupold felt that her biggest accomplishment was that she never quit. "My first year was tough and that even carried over into my sophomore season," Leupold said. "But I stuck with it. I'm not the type of person to quit - I stayed true to my heart."

Tracy Duchac's struggle was different than Leupold's , but none the less challenging. In Third Grade, she was diagnosed with a learning disability, which made it very difficult for her to get the job done in the classroom. The transition from high school to college was difficult indeed. "I think it's difficult for a lot of people to take that first step and ask for help, but once I jumped that hurdle and started using the resources available to me, things improved," Duchac said.

So, was Tracy Duchac able to overcome her struggles academically? Was she ever! She earned Academic All-America honors, as she was named a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Academic All-American and Academic All-Big Ten in 2003-04. "It felt great to be rewarded for my efforts in the classroom and not just for what I accomplish in the pool," Duchac said. These two ladies are two tremendous examples of perseverance and determination to overcome, in their cases, physical and mental defects to make it to the top of the mountain. If they can do it, so can we all.

Incidentally, how did Duchac and Leupold and their teammates do in the Big 10 Championships in 2005? Christine Leupold made it to the Finals of the Women's 100 yard Freestyle and finished in sixth place. Tracy Duchac also made it to the Finals of that event and finished in 10th place. The team as a whole finished in fifth place with 399 total points behind Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Champions Penn St.