First, her body changed, then, her attitude towards elite athletics, and finally, her choice of which sport to pursue Paralympic gold. Carrie Willoughby (a Bessemer, AL native) has always competed, often won, and continues to evolve as a disabled athlete, tempering competitive fire with her need for a life full of people, and of art. (Her first show on the politics of disability opens this fall in Alabama).
Willoughby began as a gymnast, but rapid growth caused stress-related injuries to her joints. Her parents said they’d finance sports or medical bills, but not both. So in her teens, Willoughby took up swimming. She had the build and, despite legal blindness, needed no adaptations to compete, though her disability forced her to advocate and develop strategies to accommodate her safe inclusion on the team in a way her coaches and teammates could accept.
Willoughby lettered her junior and senior years, making the Alabama state meet in her specialties, the 100-meter butterfly and backstroke. She enrolled at Jacksonville State University with no intention of continuing swimming.
In this phone interview from her home in Colorado Springs where she supports her training working at Home Depot, Willoughby discusses the epiphany that re-energized her swimming career, and why she traded the pool for the pedals of a tandem bike on her Paralympic path.
Self-Advocacy was Blind Swimmer’s First Challenge
Q. How did you advocate for inclusion on your school swim team?
C.W. I had to learn how to adapt in the pool and work as a team with people who were unfamiliar with visual impairments. I had to say, “If you’re coming at me, I won’t see you.” I also had trouble seeing the clock as turnover time during interval workouts picked up.
At the time, it was hard to articulate what my eyesight was and to admit that it changed the way I went about and things.
Q. What inspired your Paralympic push and how did you prepare?
C.W. I learned about the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics and got the bug. I got back in the pool to see if it was really something I wanted to go for. I got motivated and just kept going. I found a YMCA swim team and bought my suitemate dinner or gas to take me down there 2-3 times a week. I transferred to Auburn University as a junior and finished training there.
Q. What was the pinnacle of your swimming career?
C.W. I finished 4th in the 100-meter butterfly and backstroke at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney—no medal, but I’ve won my share, including five golds at the 2009 IBSA Pan Am games. I also hold the American record in the 50-meter butterfly.
Paralympic Cycling Fits Willoughby’s Skills, Style
Q. Why the switch to cycling?
C.W. Paralympic-level swimming is difficult to maintain and manage; there are egos and obligations that change people. Nothing is ever good enough. It reached the point where the only thing the program provided was criticism and I didn’t want to take that any more.
Q. How does the US Paralympic cycling program differ?
C.W. The Paralympic cycling program provides a better balance of constructive criticism and acknowledgment of what’s gone right. They stress that there’s always room for improvement, but they let you know what you’re doing right.
Driving Willoughby is the opportunity to realize a dream discovered watching her first Paralympics. “It was exciting to see people represent their country doing what they love to do,” Willoughby recalls. For Willoughby the Colorado mountains provide a winding path towards the medal platform at the 2012 Paralympics in London.
Andrew Leibs - Andrew Leibs is Suite101’s Feature Writer for Accessible Recreation. He is a longtime chronicler of the disability movement with ...
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