The News Journal published an article on Tuesday about Andrew Gemmell, the 21-year-old Wilmington native who will represent the USA swim team in the 2012 London Olympics. Andrew, who is the sole Delaware native represented in the 2012 Olympics, will compete in the 1,500 freestyle qualifying heats on August 3. The top eight swimmers will comprise the field in the finals on August 4 at the London Aquatics Centre.
Delaware has not won an Olympic swimming gold since Dave Johnson earned two at Mexico City in 1968.
The Olympics promise to be the culmination of a life-long love affair with the water for the long-distance swimmer.
“I’ve been taking [swimming] lessons since I was 1 or 2,” he said. “My dad was a swimmer and he was sort-of coaching some and he just took me into lessons and I’ve been doing it ever since. He probably started coaching me as my primary coach at around 8 to 10, somewhere in that range.”
Nowadays, those training sessions include 20 hours per week in the water and four to five hours of weight training out of the pool. In all, Gemmell swims 8,000 meters/yards a day, six days a week.
That much training takes dedication and often also takes a team – and Gemmell has found that with his family.
Click here to read the full article on The News Journal’s website.